Letting the Light In
by avatar-chik
Summary: Sequel to Letters from a Forgotten Friend. Shuukaku has been removed and Gaara has to get used to a lot of new and unfamiliar changes. Can Akina help give him some comfort? GaaxOC
1. Childhood Memories

_**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!!! THE ONLY CHARACTER THAT BELONGS TO ME IS AKINA! **_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**Takes Place When Akina and Gaara are 6 Years Old**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_Akina was putting away her painting supplies, happily humming to herself. She reached out to open the cupboard when the door flew open._

_"BOO!" Gaara shouted, jumping out of the cupboard. Akina shrieked, dropping everything that she was carrying. The paints squirted and splattered all over her. After she realized what happened, she glared at a smirking Gaara. She gave him an evil grin right back at him. She wiped some of the paint that was on her face and smeared it on Gaara's face. He stared at her with wide eyes before giggling._

_The two of them started cleaning up the mess, but were distracted from the task. Gaara had picked up a paint brush and started painting one of Akina's arms a bright pink color. Akina began giggling and picked up a paintbrush as well. She dipped it in a dark blue color and painted the arm he wasn't using. This went on for quite awhile, both of them being quite amused._

_Yashamaru was walking down the hallway, wondering where Gaara had run off to. He peeked into one of the rooms, his eyes widening at what he was. His shock slowly turned into that of amusement._

_"What are you two doing?" he asked with a smirk. Akina and Gaara dropped the paintbrushes and stared at Yashamaru. They averted their eyes to the each other and started laughing. "Look at you two. You're both like walking pieces of artwork!" Gaara's face had been painted green while his arms were painted blue. Akina's face was painted orange and her arms were painted a bright pink._

_"We were bored," Gaara giggled. Yashamaru smiled at them chuckled._

_"What am I going to do with you two?" he asked teasingly. He held a hand out to each of the two children. "Come on you two. Let's go get you both cleaned up." The little 6 year olds happily took one hand each and followed Yashamaru to the bathroom. _

_Yashamaru took out a clean rag and wet it with warm water. Gaara watched as he gently cleaned the orange paint off of Akina's face. When most of it was gone, he cleaned the rag out and did the same to Gaara. Akina giggled which made Yashamaru chuckle a little bit too._

_After about 15 minutes, the two children were paint free. Yashamaru tossed the rag into the dirty hamper and ruffled the two children's hair, earning a giggle from both of them._

_"Thank you Yashamaru-sama," Akina said sweetly, bowing her head slightly. He smiled and nodded._

_"Try and not make any more messes," he told them. They nodded, giggling all the while._

_**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

_Akina and Gaara were sitting on a couch, sharing a rather large blanket. Both child was shivering and had bright red noses. They were clutching tissues in their hands._

_"I'm sure you two learned a lesson about playing in the rain," Yashamaru told them. He poured some cough syrup into two small Dixie cups and handed one to each child. "Take it so you can feel better." Gaara and Akina looked at the Dixie cup in disgust. They looked at each other for a moment for quickly gulping down the foul tasting liquid. Yashamaru smirked as their faces contorted into disgust. Akina shuddered as the foul liquid slid down her throat._

_"I hate having a cold," she mumbled, hiding her head under the blanket. Gaara looked at her weirdly before sneezing. "Bless you," Akina giggled from beneath the blanket._

_"Thank you," he muttered with a smile._

_**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

_"You should stay away from Gaara," a small boy Akina's age warned her. Akina tilted her head to the side in confusion._

_"Why?" she asked, slightly curious._

_"Haven't you heard? He's a monster!" The boy turned and walked the other way. Hana just stood there, still kind of confused._

_She quickly turned around when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She grinned when she saw Gaara._

_"Do you want to play at my house?" he asked shyly. Akina nodded._

_"Hey Gaara?" The red-haired boy looked into her eyes questioningly. "Why do all the kids keep calling you a monster?" Gaara looked as if he were hurt by those words. He looked down at the ground in sadness._

_"It's because I have a demon inside of me," he told her softly. Akina, frowned. "It's alright if you think that too." He sighed softly and turned to leave. He stopped when he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist._

_"I don't think that at all," she told him happily. "Not unless you are some kind of monster teddy bear." Gaara laughed and shook his head._

_"I'm not a teddy bear," he told her, smiling. Akina giggled._

_"Yes you are! You're the best teddy bear there is." She squeezed him even tighter._


	2. A Checkup and Saying Goodbye

The burial for Chiyo-basama had finished a little over an hour ago. Naruto and Kankurou had taken Gaara to the hospital for further examination. Naruto and Kankurou sat in a chair while Gaara sat on the examination table, shirtless. He was glaring at the other two, obviously upset about them dragging him to the hospital.

"I told you that I feel fine," he grumbled. Kankurou looked up from the magazine he was reading and smirked at his little brother.

"I know you do," he chuckled, "But we need to be sure." Gaara sighed in aggravation.

"Don't worry Gaara," Naruto assured him. "I'm sure it won't take long."

On that note, there was a small knock on the door. A few moments later, the door was opened and Akina walked in. Gaara's eyes widened slightly and Naruto jumped out of his chair in joy.

"Akina-chan!" he exclaimed. Akina grinned as the blonde wrapped his arms around her waist. "Where have you been?! I haven't seen you in ages." Akina laughed and patted his head.

"My word, you have gotten a lot taller," she told him playfully. Naruto let go of her and grinned. Akina turned her attention to Gaara and smiled softly at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"I feel fine," he sighed, "But they dragged me here anyway." Akina smirked and nodded.

"They're just concerned about you." She placed her hand on Gaara's back, shuddering when her hand came in contact with his bare skin. She concentrated all of her chakra into her hand. Akina moved her hand to the middle of his back, making him shudder once again. Kankurou and Naruto noticed this and smirked at each other. Akina walked in front of him and put a hand on his chest. She kept it there for a few more moments before pulling it away.

"You seem to be fine," she told him. "I highly recommend that you take it easy." He nodded and thanked her. Kankurou threw Gaara's shirt at him and he quickly put it on. He got off the table and almost fell to the floor. Akina caught him by the arm and struggled to keep him up. Naruto and Kankurou got up and put his arms over their shoulders. "I said it once and I'll say it again. I highly recommend that you take it easy." Gaara sighed in aggravation and nodded once more.

"Thanks Akina-chan!" Naruto told her happily. Akina grinned and nodded. "I told you that it wouldn't take very long," Naruto told Gaara as they left the room.

Once the trio was out of sight, Akina frowned and heaved a sigh.

"Is something wrong Akina-chan?" Sakura asked, standing in the doorway.

"I don't really know anymore," Akina told her, sitting down in one of the chairs. Sakura walked over and took a seat next to her.

"It's about Gaara, isn't it?" The white haired girl looked up her, seeing a smirk on her face. Akina sighed again and nodded.

"Yeah, it's about him." Sakura chuckled and wrapped and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not one to give advice on relationships," she began, "But I really don't think you have anything to worry about. If you and Gaara were meant for each other, it will all fall into place." Akina smiled and nodded.

"I know that already. Now that he has become Kazekage, his main focus has been on the village, as it should be of course. I still can't help but feel that we're growing apart." Sakura looked into her friend's sad green eyes.

"Then talk to him," she suggested. "Do something. If this is really causing you this much inner turmoil, then you need talk to him." Akina nodded and sat back in the chair.

"I know that Sakura. I don't mind us just being friends, but it seems like he's even cutting off our friendship. If this keeps up, then I'll talk to him. I don't want to say anything right now, especially not after everything he has been through recently." Sakura frowned and nodded sadly.

"I hope everything works out between you two. I know that you've been working hard to become friend with him again, and I really think that you deserve it." Akina grinned and gave her friend a quick hug.

"Thank you Sakura," Akina told her softly. "I enjoy being able to talk to you. I love Naruto to death, but sometimes there are some things that I'd rather talk to another girl about." Sakura laughed and nodded.

"I understand completely." Sakura and Akina stood up and exited the room.

"We're probably going to be leaving tomorrow," Sakura informed Akina.

"You guys are going to be leaving so soon?" Akina asked, raising an eyebrow. Sakura smirked and nodded. "We want to get back as soon as possible so we can report the events to the Hokage-sama personally." Akina nodded in understanding.

"You should go get some rest then," Akina told her. Sakura smiled and nodded.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The next day, everyone was meeting outside the village gate. Akina and the Sand Siblings were saying goodbye to Team Kakashi and Team Gai.

"Be sure to come and visit us," Sakura told Akina, giving her one last hug.

"I will," Akina replied, smiling. "Try and keep Naruto out of trouble for me." Sakura nodded and stepped back over to her teammates.

Gaara and Naruto were off to the side, everyone watching the two as they said their goodbyes.

"I guess this is when you normally shake hands and part ways," Naruto said bashfully, "But I'm bad at that kind of thing….." Naruto stared in shock as Gaara held his hand out to him. Everyone smiled at this, although Naruto looked slightly uncomfortable. A soft mist of sand gently guided Naruto's hand upwards. Naruto was a little shocked at first but smiled. Naruto grasped hold of Gaara's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. At that moment, the world seemed to come to a standstill. The two of them were the best of friends, whether it was confirmed by words or not. It was just something that couldn't be explained. It was something that seemed as if it were meant to be that way.


	3. Akina's Diagnosis

Akina was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with blank eyes. She bit her bottom lip, a habit she had picked up over the 2 years she had been in Suna. She bit the dry skin off, causing her lip to bleed. She heaved a depressed sigh and began sucking on her bloody lip.

She didn't mind the taste of blood. It was a strange taste, but it didn't bother her. It had this sweet taste, almost like metal. She kind of liked it. That was one of the reasons she didn't mind when her lip would start bleeding. Still, biting her lip was a nasty habit and wasn't good for her.

She sucked on her lip a little longer before getting up and walking to her dresser. She took out some chap-stick from her top drawer and applied it to her dried lips. She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door, which made her drop the chap-stick. She quickly picked it up and put the cap back on it. She walked over to the door and answered it. She smiled when she saw Temari.

"What's up?!" Akina greeted her cheerfully. Temari looked at her with worried eyes, making Akina frown. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Can I come in?" she asked. Akina nodded, stepping aside so that the blonde could enter. Temari took a seat on the couch, Akina taking a seat beside her.

"What's going on Temari? Is everything okay?" Temari shrugged.

"I'm not really sure," she sighed. "Gaara has been acting really strange lately. I know that it's only been two weeks since the kidnapping, but isn't he supposed to make some kind of improvement?" Akina looked at Temari with a serious look.

"It's going to take awhile Temari," Akina told her. "It may take months before he has fully recovered from everything. I'm going to be checking up on him tomorrow afternoon and I'll see if everything is alright." Temari smiled weakly and thanked her.

"I just can't help but worry about him," she sighed. This wasn't hard for only him. It was hard for all of us." Akina nodded in understanding.

"I know, but you have to let Gaara cope his own way. Unless it seems like he's going downhill, try and stay out of it. You can as him how he's doing every now and then, but don't push him into giving any specifics. He'll recover. You don't need to worry about that."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair. He felt absolutely horrible. For the last past 2 weeks, he had been constantly attending meetings and filling out paper work. One would think that the council would give him a small break, but that wasn't the case. Instead, they added more work onto his pile of things he needed to get done. They were drowning him with work and stuff. He didn't have any time to sort out his thoughts, or anything like that. Even with all the things on his mind, he just didn't have the time to mull it over. Now, he just felt miserable.

"How are you feeling Gaara?" Akina asked, putting a hand on Gaara's forehead.

"Miserable," Gaara muttered. "I can't even concentrate anymore." Akina kept her hand on his head for a couple more seconds before removing it. She frowned at him and shook her head.

"You really need to cut your work load down," she told him.

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Gaara asked, furrowing his brow at her.

"I'll write that as part of my prescription," she told him. "And for me to be able to do that, I am going to need a copy of your daily schedule. I'll look it over and let you know which things I think should be cut. Another thing that I highly recommend is for you to try and get some sleep." Gaara stared at her through blank eyes.

"I'm not supposed to…."

"The Shuukaku is gone now, correct?" she asked, interrupting him. Gaara slowly nodded, looking down at the floor with sadness. "Then it should be safe for you to try and get some sleep. With the demon gone, your body can't handle as much stress as it could before hand. Like I said before, I highly recommend it." Gaara nodded and watched as Akina took out a pad of paper and scribbled something on it. She handed it to Gaara and smiled at him.

"What is this?" he asked, looking at the slip of yellow paper.

"It's a medical diagnosis. Give it to the council, and if they have a problem with it, they can come and debate about it with me personally." Gaara smirked at her and thanked her. He was just about to leave when Akina stopped him one last time.

"Gaara." The red-head stopped and looked over his shoulder at Akina. "If you need someone to talk to, I'll always be here. Temari and Kankurou will be there for you too. Don't be afraid to come out and say something that's been bugging you." Gaara gave her a weak smile and nodded.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he said softly as he left.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara sighed softly to himself as he walked home. It was close to midnight by the time he finally got out of the office. It had been almost a week since Akina had given him orders to take it easy. He did for the first few days, but it didn't last much longer than that. Akina didn't really know about it yet, and he was kind of glad about that. He knew that she would flip and would probably go off on the council.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take some time for himself, it was that he couldn't. He actually wanted to have some time to sort out his thoughts. They have been driving him insane. He felt strange and miserable most of the time. He didn't even know why. It just felt as if there was a rain cloud following him around everywhere, causing him to feel rather depressed.

As for the other advice Akina had given, he ignored it for most part. He was a little nervous about sleeping. He knew that his body would benefit from it, but it just didn't seem right. He had lived a good portion of his life without any sleep, and it was just kind of awkward to change so suddenly. He did, however, lie on his bed and sort out his thoughts. It didn't seem to help. It seemed to only make him even more miserable.

Gaara silently entered his home and went into his bedroom. He took off his Kazekage robes and stripped down to his boxers. He walked over to his dresser and took out a pair of sweat pants, putting them on. He then turned out the light and plopped down on his bed.

_"Maybe I should try it," _Gaara thought to himself. He didn't even have to try. His body couldn't take it anymore. He immediately drifted into a deep sleep, everything around him disappearing into darkness.


	4. Crashing

Another month quickly sped by. At first Gaara seemed to be getting better. He had been sleeping more often and the council had decreased the amount of meetings for some reason. During the end of the month, however, Gaara's health seemed to suddenly drop. He had a harder time concentrating on anything and would get lost in his own thoughts. It felt as if the cloud had returned to torment him some more. Gaara also seemed to be surrounding himself with his work and secluding himself from the rest of the world.

Gaara was walking home from his office, like he normally did. This was actually the first time that week that he was going to be staying over night in his home. He had been staying in his office, drowning himself with documents and other things he would need to do.

Gaara entered his home, sighing as he noticed it being completely empty. He had sent his siblings on a mission the day before and they wouldn't be returning until the next morning. Gaara walked down the hall and went into his room. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Akina sitting down on his bed, apparently waiting for him to arrive.

"What are you doing here?" he asked bitterly. Akina gave him an odd look, since he hardly ever took that tone with her.

"Checking on you," she answered softly. Gaara glared at her and shut the door behind him.

"I don't need you to check on me like I'm a little kid. I'm the Kazekage. Besides, I'm fine. I don't need you." Akina narrowed her eyes at him. She could tell just by looking at him, that he was not okay.

"What's wrong with you Gaara? You don't normally act like this." Gaara just continued to glare at her. Akina stood up and slowly walked over to him. His glare intensified the closer she got to him. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" she asked sadly. She slowly reached a hand out to touch him, but Gaara didn't let her. He grabbed her wrist, holding onto it firmly. Akina looked at him in shock.

"I told you that I don't need you," he growled. Akina looked at him with hurt filled eyes.

"If you didn't want me around anymore, all you had to do was tell me." Gaara looked at her in slight confusion. Akina pulled her hand out of his grasp and quickly walked around him. "I'll be gone by tomorrow," she told him softly before walking down the hallway.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock and he felt his heart sink lower into his chest. That wasn't what he wanted, not even remotely close. He didn't mean it that way. He quickly left the room and hurried down the hallway.

"Akina, wait a minute!" he called after her. He suddenly stopped, feeling a sharp pain in his head. He gasped, clutching his head in one hand. He took another step and fell to the ground.

_"What is happening to me?" _Gaara asked himself inwardly as everything faded away into darkness.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Akina stopped at the doorway, thinking that she heard Gaara's voice. She sighed to herself and turned around.

"Did you call me Gaara?" she asked, her voice slightly bitter. She got no answer.

_"I guess it's because I want him to stop me," _she thought to herself. She didn't really want to leave. Sighing to herself once more, she walked back the way she came. She stopped halfway down the hallway, staring with shock in her eyes at the fallen Gaara. She quickly knelt down beside him and rolled him over onto his back. She sighed in relief to see that he was still breathing. She put the back of her hand to his forehead, quickly pulling it away when she felt how hot it was.

"I thought that you said nothing was wrong," she said softly, petting his red-hair.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_**Gaara's Dream**_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_Gaara was standing in the middle of Sunagakure, widespread panic spreading through the village. The village was in ruins and there were corpses everywhere. He could hear the screaming of some of the villagers as they ran past him. Akina, Temari, and Kankurou finally stopped in front of him. _

_"What happened?" Gaara asked them. The three of them glared at him._

_"The village was attacked!" Temari snapped, stomping away from him._

_"You weren't able to do anything about it," Kankurou added in before following his sister._

_"Why didn't you do anything?" Akina asked, looking at him with hateful eyes. "Over half of the village has been completely wiped out, and you didn't do anything to stop it. I thought you were the Kazekage! I believed in you!" Gaara stared at her with hurt filled eyes. He couldn't even find the words to say. "I hate you Sabaku no Gaara." With that, she started to walk pass him, not even bothering to take a passing glance._

_Without even thinking, Gaara reached out and grabbed Akina by the wrist. She angrily spun around, and shoved a kunai into his stomach. Gaara cried out in pain and stood there in complete shock. Akina glared hatefully into his tear filled eyes and slowly shoved the knife further into his stomach, twisting it as it bit deeper into his flesh. Gaara let out a small gasp and grabbed onto Akina's wrist with both of his hands. Blood started to flow steadily out of the wound, creating a small crimson puddle beneath them. Akina let go of the kunai as Gaara collapsed to his knees, and then fell onto his side._

_He was still clutching onto the kunai, but didn't dare pull it out. His breathing became labored and his heart rate began to slow. Akina grinned evilly at him as he laid there on the sand, slowly bleeding to death. Gaara let the tears fall down his cheeks, knowing that he wasn't going make it._

_"Die Sabaku no Gaara," Akina hissed. "Die knowing that you were always hated. Die knowing that you had lost everyone's trust and that you have failed. Die knowing that I have always hated you Sabaku no Gaara."_

_**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

_**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

Gaara shot up in his bed, breathing heavily. His body was shaking, all though he was covered in his own sweat. His heart was racing and was filled with pain. He blinked away the tears that had threatened to fall from his eyes.

He gasped and jumped slightly when he felt someone touch him. He turned to see Akina. He was suddenly overwhelmed with more fear and pain. Akina seemed to notice this.

"G-Get away from me!" he barked. Akina gave him a stern look and shook her head. Gaara tried to push her away, but was unsuccessful. Instead, she grabbed him by the wrists and held onto them tightly. He tried to pull away, but at no prevail. Gaara started to panic, fearing that his nightmare was going to come true. Tears started to stream down his face and his body started trembling.

"Please calm down Gaara," Akina told him, her voice sounding as if she were begging. "I'm only trying to help you. It was only a bad dream, and nothing more." She wrapped her arms around the delirious Kazekage and held him tightly against her body.

"What….. is happening…… to me," he asked in between his quick, short breaths. Akina held him even tighter, lightly rubbing his back.

"The main problem is that you are really sick," she told him softly. "You have a pretty high temperature and it is causing you to lose your sense of reality. It's nothing that some rest and medicine won't take care of."

After another 5 minutes, Gaara had calmed down, although he was still a bit shaken up. Akina helped Gaara take off his sweat drenched shirt and laid him back down. She picked up a rag that was on the nightstand and had been soaking in a bowl of cool water. She wrung it out and bathed Gaara's sweaty face, neck, and chest. She dipped it back into the water and wrung it out once more. This time she folded it up and laid it on Gaara's forehead. She also pulled the covers up to Gaara's chin.

"Are….. you still going to leave Suna?" Gaara asked, his speech slurred and hard to interpret. Akina looked sadly down at him, glad that he had his eyes closed.

"We'll see," she sighed, running her fingers through his sweaty hair. "But for right now, I'm staying right here."

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_**I'm kind of unsure about this chapter. I guess Gaara is a bit OOC, but you have to remember that he is severely ill. It's not like there isn't a source to him breaking down like that, since Gaara isn't really the one to break down like that.**_

_**What did you all think? Please review! Tell me what you like and what you didn't like! It would mean so much to me, especially since tomorrow is my birthday! If I get good reviews that give me more than a "Good job," or an "Update soon!" I'll right a special chapter tomorrow. I want to know what I can do better, and if you liked it so much, what really stood out to you that made you like it? Stuff like that. SO PLEASE REVIEW! WOOT WOOT!! YAY!!!**_


	5. I Need Some Help

Kankurou, Akina, and Temari were in Gaara's room, trying to help comfort him from another nightmare. It had been 3 days since Gaara had gotten ill and he hadn't gotten any better. Akina brought some medicine along with her, hoping that it would help speed his recovery.

Temari sat on the edge of the bed, laying her upset brother back down. Gaara's face glistened with sweat and his hair was drenched with it. Tears slowly trickled down his cheeks as he looked up at the people who cared about him.

"I…. can't be….. the Kazekage," Gaara told them softly. Everyone but Akina looked at him in shock.

"Why the hell not?!" Temari gasped.

"I can't protect the village anymore." Kankurou narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Don't say that," Kankurou told him, his voice low.

"Just look at me. I'm a pathetic excuse for a Kazekage."

"You're right!" Akina agreed, looking at him with a blank face. The three of them looked at her in complete surprise.

"Shut up!" Kankurou snapped. "You're not helping!"

"And neither is he," Akina pointed out. She looked at Gaara with her intense green eyes. "The reason you are so weak is exactly what you have been doing ever since the kidnapping. You keep surrounding yourself with darkness and negative thoughts. All you have been doing is bringing yourself down. I think you are a great Kazekage Gaara. I wish you could think it too." Gaara looked at her with blank eyes before closing them.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly.

"Don't apologize to me. Change and free yourself from this dark prison. I will always be here to talk, and you know that. I have always cared about you, ever since the first day we met. I still care about you and I don't want to see you doing this to yourself." Gaara sighed and nodded.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Another 3 days went by and Gaara had recovered from his illness, mostly anyways. Akina and Gaara were sitting in his room, staring blankly at the floor.

"Talk to me Gaara," Akina told her friend, her voice soft. Gaara looked at her with sad eyes and sighed.

"Where should I start?" he asked.

"Why don't you think you should be Kazekage anymore? It's not like you haven't done anything to deserve it."

"The main reason I became Kazekage was because of Shuukaku. Without that, I'm not as strong as I was before." Akina tilted her head to the side.

"Maybe not physically, but you are mentally. Either way, you are still very strong. I don't see how you can say that you're not."

"In my nightmares, I would fail to protect the village," he told her. "Everyone would shun me, and you said that you hated me."

"Really?" she asked, kind of surprised. Gaara nodded.

"You killed me in several of them." Akina looked at him in shock. "Would you ever do that to me, even if I couldn't protect village." Akina frowned and shook her head. She took his hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze.

"Do you remember what happened on my birthday two years ago?" she asked. Gaara thought for a moment before nodding.

"We….. kissed," he answered, looking away from her when he said it.

"Ever since then, my feelings for you have grown stronger. I love you and always will, even if you don't love me back." Gaara looked up at her in slight surprise.

"Why would you do that?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Because I care deeply about you." She gave him a simple smile before looking back down at the floor.

"I had better be going," she told him softly. Gaara nodded. "Get some rest, and take it easy tomorrow. It'll be your first day back on the job, and you need to take it slow." Gaara smirked and nodded again.

Gaara watched as she left. He deeply cared about her as well, but wasn't quite sure how to go about expressing it. Sometimes he would get wrapped up in everything else that it would make him act bitterly towards Akina. Her birthday was coming up soon and he wanted to do something for her, but he didn't exactly know what. He would be visiting Konoha in a week, and he was hoping that he would be able to talk to Naruto.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"If Akina's birthday is coming up, then that means yours is coming up as well!" Naruto exclaimed. Gaara smirked at his friend and nodded.

The two of them were sitting in the Ichiraku ramen shop, eating ramen of course. Naruto was already on his second bowl while Gaara hadn't even finished his first. Gaara had told Naruto about his dilemma, and about other things between Akina and him. He hoped that Naruto would be able to give him some kind of advice.

"I just don't know what to do," Gaara sighed, picking at the noodles in his ramen bowl.

"Do you love her?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. Gaara shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. I don't really know much about love." Naruto chuckled and nodded understandingly.

"I can't really tell you what love is either," Naruto told him with a grin. "It's something that can't really be explained with words I guess. It kind of happens on its own. When you're in love, I guess you kind of just know. It's more of a gut feeling type of thing. You could probably tell with a kiss, but I'm not exactly sure."

"We've kissed already," Gaara told him softly, looking down at the ground in slight embarrassment. Naruto stared at him with wide eyes, and his mouth wide open.

"Then why are you asking me!? You should know!" Gaara shook his head in disappointment.

"That was over almost 2 years ago. She said that she loves me, but I'm not sure. I have no idea what to do anymore."

"Try kissing her again," Naruto suggested. Gaara gave him an unsure look. "Why not? She said that she loves you, so why don't you try and return the favor. I can already tell that you really like her, possibly even love her."

"How do you know?"

"How about I ask you a couple of questions, and I'll show you." Gaara sighed, but nodded. "Alright, question number one……. Do you care about her?" Gaara nodded. "Would you risk your life for her?" Gaara thought for a minute.

"I guess so, if there was no other choice."

"Do you like being around her?" Gaara thought about this again before nodding.

"She can be annoying at times, but I'd rather her be there than not." Naruto chuckled and nodded.

"Do you trust her?" Gaara nodded and Naruto grinned. "Then I think you love her. Just try to spend more time with her, if you can that is. I'm sure you'll see what I'm talking about." Gaara smirked.

"What about you Naruto?" he asked cunningly. "Do you have anyone in particular that you really like?" Naruto blushed and slowly nodded his head.

"Yes," he answered with a smile. "I really like Sakura-chan, but she still has a crush on Sasuke." Naruto's eyes saddened at the mention of Sasuke's name, but immediately brightened up again. "But Sakura-chan told me that I had a secret admirer! I don't know who, but I am going to find out!" Gaara smirked at him, and shook his head in disappointment. He doesn't even live in the village and he already had an idea about who it was. Gaara didn't know much about love, but every time this certain girl was around Naruto, she would blush so much. She also stared at him all the time, and stared at him with this lust. Not like blood lust or anything like that, but like when you really wanted something that you knew you would probably never get.

"When you get Akina-chan back, you had better be good to her!" Naruto warned him, grinning. Gaara raised an eyebrow at him, not really understanding what he was talking about.

"What do you mean Naruto?" he asked. Naruto looked at Gaara as if he were hopeless. He sighed and shook his head.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Gaara shook his head.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Naruto grinned evilly, giving Gaara a bad feeling about what he had planned.

"Good, then you are staying over at my house tonight." Gaara gave him a hard stare.

"Aren't we a little old to be having sleepovers?"

"Kind of, but I need to show you something, since you are clueless about romance."

"Like you have any better ideas than I do," Gaara sneered. Naruto rolled his eyes at him and chuckled.

"I may not have the real experience, but I definitely have the books and comics that will show you what I mean." Gaara gave him a weird look and shrugged.

"Whatever," he sighed, pushing his bowl of ramen away from him.

"I have one more meeting with Tsunade, and then I'm done for the night. I'll come over after I'm finished." Naruto grinned and nodded happily.

"Sounds great! I'll see you then!"

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_**I will leave what Naruto shows Gaara up to all of your imaginations. Lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I'm so happy! My b-day is tomorrow and I got a whole bunch of Naruto gear from my friends. I feel so special!**_

_**Anyway, I guess that I am kind of making Gaara kind of OOC. Oh well. He has to break out of that sand shell sooner or later. Please review! It would make me so happy! It would make me even happier if you would give me more detail and tell me why you liked it or what I could do better. You all know the drill. R&R PLEASE!!!! WOOT WOOT!!! C-YA (8P**_


	6. Worrying Gaara

"Are you sure that you don't want to borrow my magazine?" Naruto asked as he walked his best friend to the village gate. Gaara blushed and shook his head.

"I'm fine Naruto," Gaara told him, smiling weakly. Naruto chuckled and nodded.

"Alright, I understand. I still can't believe that was your first time reading one of those."

"I don't know how that surprises you. I live with an older sister, remember? If she were to find one of those comics in our house, she'd flip. Temari is normally easy-going, but when you get her angry, she is lethal." Naruto laughed again.

"True," he chuckled. "Anyway, I hope that everything works out between you Akina-chan. I know that she really likes you, and I think that she would be thrilled to know that you like her as well." Gaara nodded and thanked the blonde boy.

"So when if her birthday anyway?" Naruto asked in curiosity. Gaara smirked at him.

"You should remember that," he told him slyly. Naruto frowned and rolled his eyes at him.

"I haven't seen her in a while either," Naruto replied.

"It's in less than two months." Naruto grinned and looked at Gaara with excitement.

"Do you know what you're going to do for her?" Gaara shook his head.

"I'm slowly coming up with a plan, but I still need to work on it." Naruto smirked. "I should have something by the time her birthday rolls around."

"You have to write to me and tell me everything that happens." Gaara smirked and nodded.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Another month went by uneventfully, which could be thought of as a good thing. Gaara was rather surprised and relieved about peace and quiet. It was nice not having to deal with anything troublesome. Of course, none of this lasted very long.

Gaara had sent Akina on a mission to a village that had been under attack, and that was likely to be attacked again. He knew that she was strong and that her healing abilities would be needed. He didn't think that it would be too difficult for her, so he didn't hesitate in sending her. She was gone for about two weeks, and Gaara was happy to hear about her safe return.

**XXxxOOOOOOOOOOOxxXX**

Gaara raised his head from his paperwork when he heard a knock on the door. Before he could say anything, the door was opened and Akina entered. She shut the door behind her and slowly walked over in front of Gaara's desk.

Gaara looked at her in curiosity while Akina stared back at him with blank eyes. There was something about her that was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it seemed as if there was something missing.

"I have done all that could be done," Akina told him, bringing him back from his thoughts. Gaara nodded and continued to stare at her.

"I'm glad to hear that," he replied softly. "What about you? Is everything alright?" Akina nodded her head.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all. I will probably end up going home and go to bed. I haven't gotten much sleep over the past 2 weeks." Gaara looked into her dull and emotionless eyes, searching for something but being unable to find it. Finally, Gaara nodded.

"I'll make sure that they don't assign you to hospital duty tomorrow," he told her. "You deserve a day off to rest and regain your strength." Akina thanked him quickly left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Gaara sat back in his chair and began thinking to himself about the meeting he had just had with Akina.

_"She is definitely hiding something from me," _Gaara thought to himself, _"But what could she be hiding from me?"_ Gaara thought about this for a few minutes, but couldn't come up with anything. He didn't really know what bothered Akina. She was very good about staying positive and being happy. _"Whatever she's hiding, it seems to be bugging her. I need to keep an eye on her, just to be on the safe side."_ Gaara knew that Akina wouldn't be very happy if she were to find out that he was worried about her, but he couldn't help it. He knew that something was bugging her, and he didn't want anything to happen. It was better to safe now than to be sorry later.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The next day, Akina had come over for dinner. Gaara was in the living room reading over some mission reports while Temari and Akina prepared dinner. The two girls seemed to be quite happy, chatting away about random things. They mostly talked about Temari's engagement to Shikamaru and her wedding plans. Gaara smiled to himself as the girls started bursting out laughing. He was glad to see that Akina was okay. He was starting to think that it was just because she was tired.

"So your birthday is coming up soon," Temari brought up happily. Akina smiled and nodded.

"In about three weeks actually," she added, carefully chopping up the carrots.

"Are you planning on doing anything special?" she asked playfully, looking at her friend with cheerful eyes. Akina stopped what she was doing to look up at the blonde and shrugged.

"Not that I know of," she sighed. Temari looked at her in shock.

"Well, now you are! We'll throw you a party here! You and I can go out and do stuff during the day. We'll get you some new clothes, and I'll get you an amazing dress to wear, and I'll do your hair and makeup!" Akina giggled and nodded before returning to cutting up the carrots.

"That sounds like fun," Akina told her.

**XXxxOOOOOOxxXX**

Kankurou was gone, since he was still on a mission. Still, the three of them had a good dinner together. Temari and Akina enjoyed making fun of Gaara, even though he was the Kazekage. It was all in fun anyway. The two of them kind of made a contest on who could make Gaara blush the most. Gaara wasn't happy at all about this, but he didn't really have much say in the matter. Akina eventually won by telling him a secret about Naruto. Temari and Akina ended up falling over with laughter when they saw Gaara's expression.

After they had all finished eating, Temari and Akina cleaned up and washed the dishes while Gaara went up into his study to do some work.

"Temari, do you mind if I stay the night here?" Akina asked as she dried a plate. Temari looked over at her with a smile and shook her head.

"Not at all!" she told her with happiness in her voice. "You're more than welcome to stay here any time you want. The guest room is already made up for you."

"Thanks a lot. I think I'm going to head up to be right now. I still haven't fully paid off my sleep debt." Temari chuckled at the white-haired girl and nodded.

"Then go ahead. I'll finish drying off those last few things for you, and then I'll probably end up going to bed as well. I have to leave early for another mission and should probably go to bed early." Akina smirked and thanked the older female.

"Goodnight Temari and good luck on your mission."

"Thanks Akina. Goodnight to you too."

**XXxxOOOOOOxxXX**

It was about 2 o'clock in the morning before Gaara finally put down his paperwork and turned out the light in his study. He slowly walked down the hall towards his room. He stopped outside the guest room door, thinking that he heard a noise coming from inside. Not knowing that Akina had decided to stay the night, he quietly opened the door and silently entered the room.

He crept over to the bed and looked down at the girl that was writhing beneath the covers, softly whimpering to herself. His eyes showed a bit of sadness as he remembered everything that he had gone through when he had been sick. He remembered how horrible the nightmares had been, and how hard it had been getting over them.

Gaara leaned over the white-haired girl and gently shook her. The girl's eyes shot open and she shot up with a gasp. Her breathing was heavy and there were tears streaming down her face. Gaara sat down on the edge of the bed and put a comforting arm around her, just like she had done with him. He let her lay her cheek on his chest while she let the tears run down her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he ran a hand through her long white hair. Akina didn't say anything. All she did was nod. He stayed with her until she fell asleep about five minutes later. Once he knew that she was completely unconscious, he laid her back down and pulled the covers up to her chin. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand before silently leaving her and going into his own room.

Gaara crawled underneath the covers and laid there, staring up at the ceiling.

_"Is she alright?" _Gaara asked himself. _"Maybe she's falling ill, just like I had. It could have just been a simple nightmare, but I'm getting the feeling that it was much more than that. I should probably talk to her about it, but I think I'll wait and see if this continues to happen."_ Gaara closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep, not being able to stop worrying about his friend.


	7. Troublesome Nightmares

_Akina was on her knees in the center of a devastated village. Houses were burning down to the ground, and there was rubble in the place where houses used to be standing. There was the sound of screaming that could be heard in the distance, but Akina was the only living person left in the village. The corpses of hundreds of villagers laid scattered around the ground in a bloody mess. The bodies were of different ages, ranging from child to adult, and were of both males and females._

_Akina was on her knees, her body shaking furiously. The young girl was covered in the blood of others. Her long white hair was stained with crimson red and her hands and arms were completely soaked with the same color. Her bloody arms were wrapped around herself as she tried to calm herself down. Tears streamed down her face, making small splashes as it hit the ground._

_"I did what I could," she whispered to herself, "But it still wasn't enough."_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Akina shot up, breathing heavily. She looked around her, remembering that she was still in Gaara's home. She took in deep breaths and slowly let them out, calming herself down. She looked at the clock that sat on the dresser and sighed. It was a little past 8 in the morning.

Akina threw back the covers and got out of bed. She silently made her way out to the kitchen and got herself a small glass of water. She sat down in one of the chairs and slowly sipped on the glass. She sighed and laid her head down on the kitchen table.

_"Why do I keep having these dreams?" _she asked herself. _"I know that it's not my fault, yet I can't help but feel somewhat responsible. I should have been to have done something."_

Just then, she heard the front door open and shut. She smiled softly to herself, knowing that Kankurou must be returning from his mission. Still, she stayed where she the way she was until he came into the room.

"What are you doing up so early?" Kankurou chuckled as he walked into the kitchen. Akina smiled and sat up. Her smile quickly faded and her eyes widened when she saw him. He was covered in blood, and he had his puppet out as well, which was also covered in blood. Akina slowly stood up, clutching her glass in her shaky hands.

Kankurou looked at her in confusion, tilting his head to the side.

"Are you okay Akina?" he asked, taking a couple of steps towards her. Akina began shaking all over and tears began to stream down her face. Just as Kankurou was close enough to reach out and touch her, Akina dropped her glass and ran out of the room as it shattered into many pieces. Kankurou stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded. He blinked in confusion when he heard the door to the bathroom slam shut and another door open.

"What's going on?" Gaara asked sleepily. Kankurou looked up to see his brother rubbing his eyes, obviously from just having woken up. Kankurou shook his had.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I just got back from a mission and found Akina up. When I tried talking to her, she dropped her glass and ran into the bathroom I guess." Gaara frowned and shook his head.

"What did you say to her this time?" he asked, sounding a little aggravated. Gaara walked back down the hallway, Kankurou following close behind. "Akina, please come out!" he called through the door as he pounded on it.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed, sounding as if she had been sobbing. Gaara's eyes widened slightly as he realized that this was much more than her just being upset.

"Akina, I'm sorry for whatever I did," Kankurou apologized, "Just come out so we can talk about this."

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you! Just let me die here!" Kankurou and Gaara looked at each other with worried expressions. Gaara reached out to open the door, only to find that it was locked. He sighed in frustration.

"Akina, either you open the door or I'm breaking it down!" There was no answer.

_"What in the hell is going on?!" _Gaara asked himself.

Just as he was about to break down the door, it flew open and Akina came running out. Gaara grabbed her around the waist from behind, holding onto the kicking and screaming girl.

"Let go of me!" she cried, trying to break free of Gaara's hold. Instead of letting go, he tightened his grip around her. He looked back at his brother, who was watching all of this in shock.

"Let us…. be alone," he grunted. "Go change or something." Kankurou nodded and quickly left.

"Fuck Gaara! Let me go!" Her body was shaking uncontrollably and she was crying now. He could feel the tear drops as they hit the bare skin of his arms.

"Not until you stop this!" Gaara growled. He didn't mean to sound mean or anything. It was kind of hard to sound nice while trying to restrain the hysterical girl.

Akina struggled a few minutes longer before going limp in his arms and totally breaking down. Gaara got to his knees and held the sobbing girl against him. He looked down at her with saddened eyes. He had never seen her like this before, and it hurt to see her this way. All he could do at the moment was let her cry into his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. He unconsciously kissed her forehead and began softly kissing her neck.

"S-s-so… much……. b-b-blood!" she choked in between sobs.

"Do you mean Kankurou?" he asked, looking down at her questioningly. Akina shook her head and buried her face deeper into his chest.

"I-I-I….. I c-c-couldn't…… s-save them!" Gaara looked down at her in shock. He didn't think that it would be so bad. He knew that there would be deaths, but he didn't think that Akina would take it so hard. She probably hadn't been around that much death at one time though.

Gaara kissed her forehead again and began running his fingers through her long white hair. Akina continued to sob into his chest for another 15 minutes before becoming exhausted and falling unconscious. Gaara picked her up and carried her into his room. He laid down on his bed with her curled up close to his body. He laid there for what seemed like hours before drifting to sleep. He hadn't really intended on going to sleep, but it kind of just overwhelmed him. He didn't really care either. It wasn't like he had anything better to do.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara woke up a few hours later, finding Akina still snuggled up against his chest. He looked down at the sleeping girl with worried eyes. His eyes widened when he caught himself running his had through Akina's hair. He quickly pulled it away and looked at it in shock.

_"Why do I keep doing this?"_ Gaara wondered. _"Do I really have deep feelings for her?" _Gaara frowned and shook his head. _"No, it's too soon for that." _

Just then, Akina began whimpering again and started struggling under her covers. Gaara gently shook the young girl awake and immediately gathered her in his arms when she started sobbing. His once wet shirt became wet again as it soaked up all her tears like a sponge. Gaara rubbed her back with the palm of his hand, doing his best to calm the distressed female.

Akina finally stopped crying after about 5 minutes, which allowed Gaara to talk to her easier. He didn't want to bring the matter up just yet, since he didn't want her to break down again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked softly. Akina nodded, but didn't look up at him. Gaara sat up, Akina sitting up with him. He gathered her up in his arms and got up. He carried bridal style, out into the living room and set her down on the couch. When he saw her face, he was glad to see a small smile. "What do you want?"

"What can you make?" she asked, softly. Gaara frowned, which made Akina smile a little more.

"Toast," he sighed. Akina giggled a little bit, and nodded.

"That's fine with me." Gaara smiled and went into the kitchen.

5 minutes later, Gaara came back in with a small plate of butter toast and handed it to Akina. He sat down next to her watched as she nibbled on a piece of toast. Akina grinned at him as he reached over and stole a piece of toast from her plate.

"Thanks for everything Gaara," Akina whispered. The red-head nodded.

"What happened?" he asked before taking another bite out of his toast. Akina frowned and looked down at the ground with sad eyes.

"That mission you assigned to me didn't go as well as I said it did," she told him. Gaara looked at her with serious eyes. "We were only able to save a few people. It was horrible. I couldn't save them." Gaara's eyes softened and he eased an arm around her. She laid her head up against his chest and let run her fingers through her hair.

"I'm so sorry Akina," he whispered into her ear. Akina shook her head at him.

"It's not your fault. I don't know why this is getting to me. I think that I just need some time." Gaara looked at her in uncertainty before nodding his head.

"If you ever want to talk, you know where I am most of the time." Akina smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Gaara."

Just then, Kankurou cautiously entered the living room, clean from all the blood that had covered him earlier. He smiled uneasily at Akina and gave her a small wave.

"Are you okay Akina?" he asked, slowly approaching the white-haired female. Akina smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine now Kankurou," she assured him. Kankurou sighed in relief and smiled. "I'm sorry about that. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble." Kankurou shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I was just afraid that you were mad at me or something." Akina giggled and shook her head.

"No Kankurou, I wasn't mad at you." Kankurou grinned and nodded.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I've got to go. I'm supposed to meet someone in an hour." Akina and Gaara looked at him in curiosity, Akina raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Do you have a date?" Gaara asked.

"With a girl?" Akina added, smirking at him. Kankurou's face turned a light shade of red as he nodded. Akina laughed and Gaara smirked.

"I knew you would find someone sooner or later," Akina told him with an innocent voice. Kankurou smiled uneasily and nodded.

"I'll see you two later. Play nicely while I'm gone." Gaara and Akina frowned and narrowed their eyes at him. He chuckled and quickly left the two of them. Akina and Gaara looked at each other with a sly smile before Akina started laughing.

"Your brother is so lame!" she laughed. Gaara nodded, rolling his eyes at her.

"How long did it take you to figure that out?" he asked. Akina stuck her tongue out at him and giggled.

* * *

**_I hope that you all enjoyed. Please Review, and then I will post the next chapter! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get 5 reviews, or after 5 days. Which ever one comes first. So if you want the next chapter out sooner, then all you have to do is REVIEW!!!_**


	8. Getting Answers

About a week went by, and Gaara hadn't really seen much of Akina. He really wanted to make sure that she was alright, but he had been so caught up in his work. It took a week for him to finally find the time to go and check up on her.

He knocked on her door and was surprised that no one answered the door. He tilted his head to one side, a little confused. He knocked again before twisting the door knob and entering her apartment. He was also surprised to see that her apartment was unlocked. The village was a relatively safe place, but Akina still locked her door.

He walked into the apartment and quietly shut the door behind him. He stood there for a couple minutes and could hear the sound of someone crying. He followed the sound down the hallway and into Akina's room. His eyes widened slightly when he found Akina lying down on her bed, quietly crying into her pillow. Gaara silently shut the door and took a few steps towards her.

"Are you alright Akina?" he asked softly. Akina jumped at the sound of his voice. She hopped off of the bed and glared at the red-head. He looked at her with worried eyes and slowly approached her. She took a few steps backwards until she was practically up against a wall. His eyes widened when he saw he pull out a kunai.

"Stay away from me!" Akina snapped, pointing the kunai at him. "Just go away!" She lunged at him with the kunai, actually intending to hurt him, or worse. Gaara stepped out of the way at the last moment and grabbed Akina's wrist. She raised her other arm to try and get him off, but he quickly took her by that wrist as well. He pinned her up against the wall, keeping both of her arms down at her side, holding onto both wrists tightly.

"Stop it!" she cried, struggling against his grip. "You're hurting me!" Gaara didn't let go.

"Let go of the kunai Akina!" he told her firmly, squeezing her wrist even more. She struggled against him for a few moments longer before she finally let the kunai fall to the floor. Even after that, he didn't let go of her. Instead, he quickly let go of one of her wrists and wrapped that his arm around her waist. He did the same thing with his other arm so that now he was holding her against him while still keeping her arms pinned at her side.

Akina screamed at him, kicking and struggling beneath his grip. Tears were flowing from her eyes, running down her cheeks and splattering onto the floor. Her whole body started shaking uncontrollably and her breathing was short and uneven. He held her tightly against his body, not wanting her to hurt herself.

"Why are you doing this Akina?" he asked, grunting as he did his best to keep her from throwing him off balance. Finally, the girl collapsed in his arms. She started sobbing uncontrollably, just like she had the last time. Gaara sat down on the edge of Akina's bed with Akina on his lap, sobbing into his shirt. He held her shaking body close to his own, wanting to calm her down.

"Akina, what is going on?" he asked softly, rubbing her back with the palm of his hand. Akina clutched onto his shirt, digging her nails into his skin. Her hissed in pain, but didn't try to stop her. He wanted her to get everything out now, rather than later.

"I'm…. s-sorry!" Akina choked in between sobs. Gaara nodded, looking down at her with sad eyes.

"Akina, please talk to me. What's making you so upset?" Akina shook her head.

"I…. d-don't w-want…… t-to talk…… about… it," she whimpered.

"Akina, you need to tell….."

"Please don't make…… me talk about it!" she begged, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Gaara looked down at her with shock, but nodded.

"Alright Akina, you don't have to tell me about it right now," he told her gently, hugging her against her. "But I will find out what is bothering you, one way or another."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"You wanted to see me Kazekage-sama?" a jounin asked, poking his head into the room. Gaara looked up at the brown haired man and nodded his head. The jounin slipped inside the room and closed the door.

"You were on that mission with Akina, weren't you?" Gaara asked. The ninja frowned and nodded.

"Yes, I was." Gaara sensed something in his voice that wasn't very pleasant.

"I need to ask you a question about that mission, and I need you to answer me truthfully." The ninja looked down at the ground with sad eyes before nodding. "Did anything happen to you guys or specifically to Akina during the mission?" The ninja looked at him with blank eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry Kazekage-sama, but I promised Akina that I wouldn't tell anyone." Gaara looked at her with stern eyes, showing him that he wasn't playing around.

"Akina has been in complete turmoil ever since the mission. The other day, she went as far as pulling a kunai on me. I'm not just concerned about her because she is a fellow shinobi, but because she is also a good friend of mine."

"I'm sorry Kazekage-sama, but Akina made me swear that I wouldn't say anything." The ninja looked down at the floor for a few moments before looking back up at the red-haired leader. "I suppose I can write it down though. That way, I'm not technically breaking my promise." Gaara nodded at the shinobi and pushed a pen and a piece of paper to the edge of the desk. The brown haired boy stepped forward and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. He then folded the paper and slid it back across the desk. Gaara picked it up, opened it, and began reading it. His eyes widened when he finished. He set the piece of paper down on the desk and looked up at the shinobi in complete shock.

"Did she tell you this?!" he asked in disbelief. He shook his head.

"I kind of found her, and ended up breaking it up. If you end up going to her, please don't tell her that I revealed anything to you." Gaara nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for cooperating. I won't tell her. You are dismissed." The ninja bowed in respect before turning and exiting his office.

Gaara leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling with sad eyes. He couldn't believe it, and he didn't want to believe it either. He never thought that something like that could actually happen, but he was proven wrong.

Gaara slowly got up from his chair and left his office. He couldn't just sit around after hearing the truth like that. He wanted to confront Akina about it immediately, but he didn't think that that would be a good idea. He wanted to confront her in the best way possible, but he wasn't sure how to do that.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Hey Gaara!" Temari welcomed as the red-haired boy entered their home. Gaara looked up at her with sad eyes before looking away and going to his room. Temari winced when she heard him slam the door shut.

_"I wonder what all that was about?"_ she thought to herself. Temari got up from her spot on the couch and walked down the hallway. She knocked on her baby brother's door and entered. She raised an eyebrow when she saw her brother sitting on the edge of his bed, glaring a hole through the floor. She walked over and took a seat next to him.

"Alright baby brother," she sighed. "Spill your guts. I know there's something bothering you. Anyone in the house knows." Gaara sighed in frustration, clenching his hands into fists.

"For the first time in years, I have the strong urge to kill someone!" he growled. Temari's eyes widened. When he said this, the first thing she thought of was the Shuukaku. The only problem was that Gaara no longer possessed the tanuki demon. This urge was entirely his own.

"What for Gaara? Did something happen to you?" She looked at her brother with worried eyes. Gaara shook his head and bit his bottom lip.

"It didn't happen to me." Temari tilted her head to the side, not really following what he was saying. "Do you remember when Kankurou and I told you about when Akina totally freaked out that one morning?" Temari nodded.

"Did it happen again?" she asked. Gaara nodded his head.

"Yes, about three days ago. She even pulled a knife on me that time." Temari looked at him with concern.

"I wonder what has been bothering her," Temari said out loud.

"I talked to her one of her teammates, and I think I might have found the reason. I want to approach her about it, but I'm not sure if that is the best idea."

"What did you find out?" Gaara bit his bottom lip, thinking about whether or not he should tell her. "You have told me this much already. You had better tell me the rest of it." Gaara closed his eyes and nodded.

"It happened during her mission, apparently during one of the raids on the village. They were already weak and most of the civilians were either dead or severely injured. They were under supplied in ninja, and had a very slim chance in being able fend off another attack."

"Gaara," Temari interrupted, "You're stalling." Gaara bit down on his lip hard. He couldn't even find the words. He reached into his pocket and took out the slip of paper the jounin had written on. He handed it to her and looked down at the floor in shame. Temari opened it up and read it. She gasped, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"No wonder she has been acting like this," Temari whispered, crumbling the piece of paper up in her hand. Gaara nodded and buried his face in his hands. "The poor thing!"

"I don't know what to do," he told her softly, his voice filled with sadness. Temari thought for a moment before putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I should talk to her," Temari told him. Gaara looked up her questioningly.

"Why you?" he asked.

"The main reason is that we are both girls. She'll probably feel much more comfortable if she is talking with another female about this. The second reason is that you are way too close to her." Gaara looked at her in confusion. She just smirked at him and shook her head. "You're so clueless sometimes. Just let me talk to her first, alright?" Gaara sighed, but nodded.

"I'll be waiting to hear how everything went." Temari nodded and pet her brother on the head.

* * *

**_Well, there's chapter eight. What do you think happened? Please tell me how you liked this chapter! I'd like to thank the 2 people who reviewed for chapter 7._**

_**ikka-bikka-boo - **thanks a lot. On top of homework, I try to find a little bit of time everyday to write. Even if it is just 5 minutes._

_**NeferNeferi - **Thanks! I liked it too, even though it was over something upsetting. _

**_Thank you all so much! I'll update either after receiving 5 reviews, or in 2 weeks. Whichever one comes first. I would update next Sunday, but my school's musical opens up this week and stuff, so I'm going to be tired out. However, if I get 5 reviews, I'll update before that time. It's up to you. If you don't want to wait 2 weeks to find out what really happened to Akina, REVIEW!!! _**

**_C-Ya!!! 8P_**


	9. The Truth is Revealed

Temari knocked on Akina's door before entering the small apartment. She shut the door behind her and looked at her surroundings. She had never actually been inside of Akina's apartment before, so she was a little bit distracted. The living room had several dragon sculptures in it and had paintings of dragons hanging up on the wall.

"Akina!" Temari called as she walked down the hallway. "Akina, are you here?! It's Gaara's sister, Temari!" Temari smiled uneasily when she saw Akina poke her head out of one of the rooms. Akina waved for Temari to come inside, so Temari did. She took a seat on the bed next to the white-haired girl.

"So, what's up?" Akina asked, looking at Temari through blank eyes. The blonde took in a deep breath and slowly released it.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened during your mission," she said softly. Akina's skin immediately turned a pale, ghost white color.

"I…. I really don't want to talk about that right now," Akina told her, her voice slightly raspy. Temari frowned at the girl and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I already know what happened Akina, so there's no reason to hide it anymore." Akina looked at her with wide eyes.

"Does Gaara…." Her voice drifted off as Temari nodded. Tears started forming in her eyes and her lip bottom lip started to quiver. Temari wrapped an arm around her friend and pulled her close. Akina wrapped her arms around her cried into the blonde's chest. Temari gently rubbed her Akina's back with the palm of her hand.

"It's alright," Temari whispered into her ear. "You're safe now, and you're with people who care deeply about you."

"W-what d-d-does Gaara think…. of m-m-me?" she whimpered, looking up at the blonde with teary eyes. Temari raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?"  
"I b-bet he thinks…. th-that I'm a d-d-dirty l-little s-slut!" Temari's eyes softened and she shook her head.

"Now why would he think that? It wasn't like you were purposely screwing around Akina! You were taken advantage of! Gaara is extremely worried about you and he is upset about what you must be going through."

"He's n-not angry?" Temari smirked and shook her head.

"No, he's not angry. At least, he's not angry at you. You should know that Gaara cares about you. He may not be aware of it, but it's kind of obvious that he has deep feelings towards you." Akina smiled slightly and giggled, sniffing a little as well.

"Thank you Temari," she said softly. The blonde female nodded and frowned.

"Are there any issues with….. well, you know." Akina thought about what she was asking for a moment before realizing what she meant. She looked down at the ground and shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she sighed. "Can I ask you a favor Temari?" The blonde nodded. "Could you….. um…."

"You want me to get you some tests, right?" The white-haired girl nodded, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Of course I will! I'll go right now." Akina stood up and went over to her dresser door. She took out her wallet and took out some money. She handed it to Temari and thanked her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she assured her. Akina nodded and forced a smile to her lips.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Temari was back after about 15 minutes.

"Will you wait for me?" Akina asked as she took it from her. Temari smiled and nodded. Akina went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Temari sat down on the bed, waiting anxiously. It had been well over 2 weeks since the incident had happened, so it would be pretty accurate.

Akina came out about 5 minutes later with tears streaming down her face. Temari got up and walked over to her.

"Well?" she asked, looking at Akina with concerned eyes. Akina smiled at her and shook her head.

"I'm not pregnant!" she told her happily. Temari smiled and wrapped her arms around Akina, hugging her tightly.

"How about you stay with us for awhile?" Temari offered, letting go of Akina. Akina thought for a moment before nodding.

"I'd really like that," she answered softly. Temari grinned and nodded.

"So it's settled. I'll help you get packed!" The two girls filled one of Akina's duffel bags with clothes for her to wear. When they finished, the two of them walked down the streets, chatting quietly.

As soon as they walked through the door, Gaara jumped out of his seat. He watched with calm eyes as Temari came in with Akina.

"I'll take your things into the guest room," Temari told her. Akina nodded, handing her duffel bag over to the blonde-haired girl.

Akina watched as Gaara slowly approached her. She could feel tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her with concern filled eyes. Akina bit her bottom lip and nodded.

"I'd be even better if you gave me a hug," she told him timidly. Gaara smirked and walked closer to her. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, letting her rest her head against his chest. Akina gave a shaky sigh and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Feel better now?" he asked softly. Akina nodded.

"You have now idea," she whispered.

* * *

**_Well, that is all I have typed out for now. I'll post again in two weeks, when I'll have more typed up and what not. _**

**_A couple of you guys guessed right. I guess I was getting kind of obvious. I didn't come out and directly say what happened to her, but I think I gave enough clues for you all to find out on your own. If you're still unsure, just ask._**

**_Thanks to all of the following:_**

_**slack-jawed-cheese-hugger - **I hope this cleared everything up._

_**Dragon of Twilight - **Yes, I did have Akina act a little bit over the top, but now you kind of know why._

_**demona013 - **You got it! And thank you!_

_**flower391169 - **i didn't really say what was on the note, but I'm sure this helped in telling you what was on it._

_**NeferNeferi - **Yes, you are the fifth reviewer. Yay!! You did nail it the first time! I kind of thought you would have._

**_I hope that you all liked this chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought. Did I portray this well enough? Please Review! My hand is now stuck in a stupid brace, so that is also going to impare me from writing until two weeks from now. I've been typing most of my things using my left hand, and I don't want to over work my only usable hand._**

**_Please Review!!!! _**

**_Thanks to all!!!!_**


	10. Gaara's Birthday

Gaara stalked into his office at the end of the day, slamming the door behind him. He was not in a good mood at all. He had been at meetings all day long, and most of them were completely irrelevant. They just wanted to find a way to waste his time. He walked over to his desk and started gathering up some paper work that he would take home to complete. He stopped when he noticed a small, brightly colored box on his desk. He raised an invisible eyebrow and picked the box up in his hand. He opened it and found a letter. He opened that up as well and quickly read it.

_**Gaara-kun,**_

_**HAPPY 16**__**TH**__** BIRTHDAY!! I knew that you were super busy today, so I left your present on your desk along with this note. I know that it's not much, but I found this rock on a mission several months ago and thought of you when I found it. It's the same color as your eyes, and has all these speckles on it that are the color of your hair. Isn't it cool?! If you get out of the office early, come find me and we can do whatever you want. Oh, and by the way, I named the rock too! I know that it's weird, but I'm a weird person. I named it Freckles. He can be Panda-chan's pet rock or something like that. Anyway, I hope that you have a great day. Try not to work too hard so that your brain ends up getting fried.**_

_**xoxoxoLOVExoxoxo**_

_**Mouri, Akina**_

Gaara smirked to himself. It sounded as if Akina was better again, but he knew better than that. She still had a lot of recovering left to do, and he knew that.

Gaara looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and stuffed small rock and note into his pocket. He turned out the lights to his office and left.

He slowly walked down the streets of Suna, running his fingers over the smooth surface of the rock. Thoughts were running in and out of his head, none of them lasting for very long.

Gaara quietly entered his home, peeling his Kazekage robes off and hanging them up in the closet. He then silently made his way down the hallway and entered Akina's room. He looked at the empty bed in surprise and jumped slightly when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around and stared at the young female standing in front of him.

"Were you looking for me?" Akina asked slyly. Gaara smirked and nodded. He reached a hand in his pocket and pulled out the small rock, holding it out in front of him.

"Freckles?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Akina giggled softly and nodded.

"Don't you like it?" she asked with a smirk.

"I like the rock, but did you really have to name it?" Akina smiled and shook her head.

"I guess not, but I did." Hesitating at first, Gaara inched his arm around her and gave her a small hug. He quickly ended it, noticing that Akina was slightly uncomfortable. The young girl had been that way for awhile now. She didn't really like being touched unless she had allowed it ahead of time. She had snapped at a few people before, but she had never said anything to Gaara. Her body would respond negatively to his touch, but she just stood there and took it. She knew that Gaara would never try to hurt her, and she trusted him. Also, she still loved him.

"You look tired," Akina commented. Gaara nodded slightly.

"I haven't really gotten much sleep this week," he sighed. Akina frowned at him and shook her head at him in disappointment.

"Then you should try to get some sleep tonight," she told him. Gaara smiled and nodded. She held her hand out with her fingers fanned apart. Gaara interlaced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Akina did this whenever she wanted to hug him, but didn't want to get into close contact. It would vary from day to day. Some days, she wouldn't mind giving hugs and receiving them. Other days, she wouldn't even want another person touching her. She was working hard to overcome her fears and was very slowly improving herself.

"Goodnight," Akina said softly.

"Goodnight, and thank you," Gaara replied. He let go of her hand, letting her walk passed him and into her room. Gaara turned and went to his own room. He undressed and laid himself down on his bed. He stared up at the dark ceiling, thinking about different things. Most of his thoughts were about Akina though.

_"What is this feeling?" _he asked himself over and over again. _"Why do I always get this feeling whenever I'm around her?"_ Gaara kind of knew the reason behind these feelings, but he was just having trouble accepting it. He wanted to accept it, but with all of the things that have happened, it kind of scared him. He was afraid about how Akina would take it. After all, he didn't want to lose her as his friend. He also wanted more.

Gaara laid in his bed, all these thoughts and questions tugging at him. He tossed and turned for several hours before finally falling into a restless sleep. Throughout his dreams, he kept hearing the same phrase over and over again.

_"You sent her on that mission. All of that could have been prevented. It's your fault."_

**XOOOOOOX**

In the other room, Akina lie awake, distracted by her own thoughts.

_"Why did this have to happen to me?" _she asked herself. She didn't blame anybody except the person who had done it to her. No one else could've done anything, and she knew that. Still, she couldn't help but ask herself why.

_"Will I ever be able to love Gaara the way I want to?"_ She loved Gaara to death, and wanted to show him. Still, there was something inside of her that wouldn't allow her. There was something inside of her that terrified her. She trusted Gaara, but it seemed as if it wasn't enough.

She rolled over onto her side and mentally kicked herself.

_"I need to stop thinking like this!" _she snapped at herself. _"All I can do is try. Nothing is going to get better if I keep going on like this. I will get through this."_

She smiled to herself and wrapped the blankets around her even more. She wasn't going to give up. That just wasn't like her. She didn't give up on finding Gaara, even after not seeing him for over 6 years. There was no way that she was going to give up on something now. Not after everything she had been through.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

* * *

**_Hello to all! I'm so sorry about it taking so long for me to finally update. I was fully prepared to post it, but then we took it to the shop unexpectantly and it was there for a month and I didn't have a back up copy. Anyway, I just got my laptop back today! I'm so happy!! Since I had the chapter already typed up, I just read it over and posted it up right away. I'm really sorry about all of this trouble._**

**_I will post another chapter up ASAP, to make up for all the time that I haven't posted._**

**_Please review! I will be oh so happy if you do!_**

**_I'd like to thank the following reviewers:_**

**_demona013, Dragon of Twilight, flower391169, Kina Lupi, NeferNeferi, Kita Kudai, slack-jawed cheese hugger, and Hinata11235._**

**_You guys are truly awesome._**

**_On another note, while me laptop was in the shop, I have been working on two new stories! Yay me! Here is what I have done before now._**

**_I posted a new chapter of "A Helping Hand"._**

**_I currently have 3 chapters posted up of my newest GAAARA x OC fic called "Make Me Whole". I have been working like crazy on it, and I absolutely love it right now. Please check it out and let me know what you think!_**

**_Because I have posted nothing but GAARA X OC fics, I am also currently working on something that is a bit different. It will be a oneshot focused around Naruto. I will give you all more of a description once I get more of it written out._**

**_Alright, that's all I have to say for now. I'll try and post again really soon. Please Review!!_**


	11. Akina's Birthday and Temari's Wedding

The week quickly went by and Akina went back to working at the hospital regularly. She needed to get back to the flow of things and it seemed to help her immensely.

Akina was getting off for the day and was about to head home. She got her things from her locker and was on her way out of the building. She was slightly surprised to find Gaara leaning up against the building wall, waiting for her to get off of work. His arms were folded over his chest and his eyes were closed.

"What are you doing here?" Akina asked with a smile. Gaara opened his eyes and smirked at her. He unfolded his arms and reached into one of his pockets. He slowly pulled out something wrapped in colored tissue paper.

"Happy birthday," he told her, handing her the small present. Akina slowly took it from him. She carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and gasped at what she saw. It was a delicate rose made from sand. It was a perfect replication of the real thing. The leaves had the little details in them, the stem had small thorns on it, and the petals were thin and delicate.

"Did you make this?" she asked in shock. Gaara closed his eyes and nodded. His eyes shot open when he felt her arms around him. He looked down at her in surprise and slowly put an arm around her. After a couple of moments, Akina pulled away from him.

"Will you walk me home?" she asked softly. Gaara nodded slightly. He was about to turn away from her, until she grabbed him by the hand. He looked at their hands for a moment before looking back up at Akina. The two of them then walked down the empty streets.

**XOOOOOOX**

Once they were at the house, they let go of each other's hand. Gaara walked Akina to her room. Akina looked up at him with her big green eyes.

"Thank you Gaara," she told him sweetly, a smile gracing her lips. Gaara was about to say something but was stopped. His body tensed up when he felt her kiss him on the cheek. "I still love you," she whispered into his ear. She quickly slipped passed him and quietly shut her door.

Gaara stood there for a few minutes, going through the scenario over and over again in his head. His cheeks were a light shade of red and his heart was beating rapidly. After he gathered his thoughts together, he slowly walked down the hall and into his room. He sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.

"Every time," he sighed to himself. "Every time I get the chance, I freeze up. What is wrong with me?" He ran his fingers through his hair and lye back, resting his head on his pillow. He closed his eyes, trying to relax himself.

_"One day,"_ he thought to himself. _"One day, I will show her that I love her back."_

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Akina was helping Temari with dinner in the kitchen. The two of them were giggling happily and chatting with each other. Temari was telling Akina more details about her wedding and was asking for some of her opinions. They also chatted about other things.

"My brother has the biggest crush on you," Temari giggled. Akina smiled and nodded.

"I know," she replied simply. Temari looked at her with shock.

"If you know, then why don't you ask him out or something?"

"I know he has a thing for me, but he's still trying to make sense of it. I'm simply giving him some time to get everything together. He'll come to me when he's ready to have a relationship." Temari smirked at the white-haired girl.

"I think you're just being evil." Akina laughed and nodded.

"I guess you could say that's the other part of it." The two female laughed.

"You're still going to be my maid of honor, right?" Temari asked. Akina nodded and smiled.

"I'm kind of young, but I'll do my best." Temari gave her friend a quick hug and then continued on with making dinner.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**3 Months Later**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Gaara watched in boredom as Temari tried to get her husband off his lazy butt and onto the dance floor. The reception had been going on for more than two hours now, and he was getting more bored by the minute. He had been sitting in the same corner for an hour, trying to keep himself somewhat distant from the other people.

Gaara took one last glance around the reception hall before getting up. He slowly made his way out of the building and outside into the cool night. He looked up at the starry sky and sighed to himself.

"Are you okay?" Gaara turned around and stared at the white-haired girl that was standing behind him. She was wearing a light blue, strapless dress that ended just above the knees. The skirt part was loose and flowing. Gaara could also see that the girl was shivering, which was no surprise.

"What are you doing out here?" Gaara asked, slowly approaching her. She shrugged.

"I guess I just wanted to get away from the crowd for awhile." Gaara nodded. He stood in front of her, staring down at the shivering female. He slowly took his jacket off and offered it to her. Akina smiled and let him drape it over her shoulders.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. Akina nodded.

Akina walked alongside Gaara, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty streets of Suna. Everyone in the town was either in bed or at Temari's reception. During the entire walk, Gaara was being tormented by his thoughts.

_"Say something," _he kept telling himself. _"If you really do have feelings for her, then do something now."_

"You…. look really….. nice tonight," Gaara told her nervously. Akina looked up at him with a smile.

"Thank you. You look really handsome yourself." Gaara quickly averted his eyes to the ground. He was never really used to holding a conversation, especially one that was centered on the topic of romance.

_"Why is this so difficult? It was so much more difficult than that one night."_ The night he was referring to was Akina's birthday a little over a year ago. Somehow, he had managed to confess his feelings to her, and proved it to her with a kiss. After that night, though, everything kind of went backwards. How come it was so easy that night and now it was so difficult?

The two of them walked around the village for about a half an hour before returning to the reception hall. They stood behind the building, looking up at the night sky. Neither of them wanted to go back inside at the moment. They were content with wandering around outside, looking up at the indigo sky.

Gaara bit his bottom lip and looked at Akina. He liked the way her hair looked against the light of the moon. It seemed to glow radiantly, just like the moon itself. Akina felt Gaara's gaze upon her and turned to look at him. The two of them locked eyes contact, neither of them able to break away from the other's stare. Gaara wanted to tear them away, but at the same time he didn't.

Akina could feel the space slowly closing between the two of them. Her heart started beating rapidly and her breathing was shaky. A chill went down her spine when he put a gentle hand on her cheek. He brought his lips close to hers, but they did not touch. He hovered there for a moment, almost as if he were teasing her. Finally, he brushed his lips against Akina's before passionately kissing her. Akina tenderly kissed him back. She slowly slid her hands up the front of his torso, resting one hand on his chest while the other one made its way to his shoulder.

Gaara pulled away for a second, taking a quick breath of air before kissing her again. He slowly snaked an arm around Akina's waist, resting his hand on the small of her back. He could feel her body trembling. Gaara pulled her closer, encasing her with his warmth.

Gaara suddenly broke the kiss when he felt something warm and wet fall on his hand. He looked at Akina and was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. Of course, the first thought that came to his mind was that he had hurt her.

"I'm sorry," he softly apologized, slowly pulling away from her. Akina gripped onto his shoulder and grabbed a hold of his shirt. He looked at her in confusion.

"I'm scared Gaara," she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. "I need to know that you really love me. I need to know that this isn't just pretend."

Gaara put his hand beneath her chin and tilted her head upwards so that she was looking in his eyes. He slowly moved his hand up to her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"I'm…. kind of scared too," he told her softly, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. "This is the first time that something like this has happened to me. I have never been in love before, at least not until you came along. I love you Akina, and I would never try to hurt you. I want you to be safe and I want to be there to ensure it."

Akina sniffled and smiled weakly. She wrapped her arms around Gaara's torso and laid her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. Gaara shook his head.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." He put an arm around her and rubbed her back in a soothing manner.

"Can we go home now?" she asked sleepily. Gaara smirked and nodded. The two of them walked down the street. Gaara had one arm around Akina's waist, allowing her to lean up against him. With one of her hands, Akina clutched onto the jacket that was still draped over her shoulders.

When they arrived home, Gaara took his jacket from her and hung it up. He then went into Akina's room where he found her collapsed on the bed. He quietly made his way over to her bedside and leaned over her. She looked up at him with a smile. Gaara leaned in close and planted a soft kiss upon her lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered. He was about to pull away so he could leave, but Akina grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him down. He put a knee down on the bed in order to keep himself from falling on top of her.

"I'm not letting you leave me now," she giggled. Gaara's eyes widened with surprise. After a moment he shook it away and lye down beside her.

Akina snuggled in close to him, letting him wrap his arms around her. For quite awhile, she really hated being touched. Now it was different. She felt safe in Gaara's arms. He made her feel protected and loved. He had even told her that he wanted to be the one to protect her. She loved him and he loved her back. He would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him. He was the only one for her, and always would be.

**_Like I promised, I got another chapter out ASAP. I hope that you all enjoy! I'm not sure when I'll get chapter 12 up, but at least I'm not leaving you any cliff hangers or anything of the nature. Please Review!! _**


	12. I Have to do What?

Akina woke up the next morning, still wrapped up in Gaara's arms. She happily sighed to herself and wiggled in closer to him. Gaara moaned softly to himself as he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before smirking at Akina.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked. Akina smiled and nodded.

"It was the best sleep I have gotten in a long time," she added. Gaara stared into her eyes and slowly brought a hand up to her cheek. He gently caressed it for a couple of seconds before sliding it up the side of her head and running his fingers through her long white hair.

"I should probably be getting up," he sighed, slowly sitting up. Akina sat up as well and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gaara turned his head to look at her and was greeted with a kiss. Gaara kissed back and gently laid his hand upon her cheek. The two of them stayed like that for a few moments before Gaara pulled away.

"I have to get to the office," he told her giving her another quick kiss before getting up.

"I know," Akina sighed. "I have to go to the hospital soon anyway." Gaara smirked at her and slowly left the room.

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

Gaara sat on the edge of his bed, going through everything the council had told him. He still couldn't believe it.

_**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_

_"Kazekage-sama," the elder began, "The council has gotten together recently and we have decided on something very important."_

_"And what would that be?" Gaara asked, folding his arms across his chest._

_"Your sister Temari has just been married to that leaf shinobi, correct?" Gaara nodded. "And your brother is currently engaged as well."_

_"What of it?"_

_"As all of our Kazekage's before us, you must be wed to a strong kunoichi." Gaara's eyes widened and his mouth was slightly ajar._

_"You are aware that I am only 16, right?" The council nodded._

_"We are well aware of that Kazekage-sama," he sighed. "We were also kind of expecting this reaction from you. I'm afraid to tell you that we cannot make any exceptions to this. All the kazekages were married within two years of receiving their title. Because of your age, we are being a bit lenient."_

_"What's the definition of lenient?" Gaara asked with a scowl on his face._

_"Well, we could make an arranged marriage," the council member said with an evil smirk. This immediately got Gaara's attention. "We are being nice enough to allow you to find a suitable wife and to propose." Gaara looked down at the ground, anger in his eyes._

_"How long do I have?"_

_"Until the end of the month."_

_**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_

Gaara sighed to himself. He loved Akina, and he knew that she would be the one he would ever propose to. Still, he didn't feel comfortable about having to propose so quickly. Would she even say yes?

"Is everything alright?" Akina asked. Gaara looked up and saw Akina standing in the doorway with concern in her eyes. Gaara sighed and nodded.

"It's just the sand council," he told her, "they're getting on my nerves with all these regulations. It's like their trying to make me miserable." Akina took a seat next to him and laid her head against his shoulder. Gaara smiled and kissed her forehead. "Did you just get out of the shower?" he asked, noticing that her hair was damp. The girl giggled and nodded.

"Yeah, I felt really nasty after my shift at the hospital." Gaara smirked and put a hand beneath her chin, lifting her head up so that she was looking at him. Akina smiled as Gaara placed a soft kiss upon her lips.

"What was that for?" she asked, when he pulled away. Gaara smirked and shook his head.

"No reason. I just felt like it."

"That's a good reason." Gaara kissed her again before pulling away and standing up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to go find a certain older brother," he answered. Akina smirked.

"What did he do this time?" Gaara chuckled and shook his head.

"Nothing yet."

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

Kankurou looked down at his younger brother, a smirk playing on his lips.

"So why are you fretting over it?" Kankurou asked. Gaara shrugged.

"I don't know," he sighed. "It's not like I'm used to this."

"Well, you love her don't you?" Gaara nodded. "Then proposing should be easy."

"Well, what do I have to do?" Kankurou chuckled.

"You really are clueless about the romance stuff, aren't you?" Gaara glared at him, but sighed. He was right.

"Instead of making fun of me, you could just tell me what I need to know."

"I know, but making fun of you is way more fun." Gaara sighed and shook his head. He wasn't really in the mood to be joking around. "I'm sorry Gaara. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Anything would be nice."

"Well first off, you have to propose right?" Gaara nodded. "Then you need to get her an engagement ring. Then you just wait for the appropriate time to ask her."

"What if she says no?" Gaara asked, looking down at the ground with sad eyes.

"Quit thinking negatively. Besides, why would she say no?" Gaara shrugged. "I don't know why you have any doubts. I think that she'll say yes." Gaara looked up at his brother and smiled weakly.

"Thank you Kankurou." His older brother grinned and nodded.

"So when do you have to propose by?"

"By the end of the month," Gaara sighed. Kankurou's eyes widened.

"Hell, that is less than two weeks!" Gaara nodded, already knowing that. "Then you should probably propose soon. I can go out with you tomorrow to get a ring and such." Gaara nodded again.

"I would appreciate that."

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

Gaara waited nervously in his office, waiting for Akina. He had sent for her a little over 10 minutes ago and she still hasn't come. He just sat there, messing around with the small ring box in his hands and going over what he was going to say. He still wasn't very sure.

He jumped slightly when he heard someone knocking.

"Enter!" Gaara's heart started racing as Akina entered the room. She stood in front of his desk, smiling at him.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late," she apologized. "I had to finish up something in the hospital first." Gaara nodded.

"That's alright." Gaara slowly got up walked over to her. He placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, making the girl giggle.

"Is this all you called me up here for?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. Gaara sighed and shook his head. He pulled away from her and looked down at the ground in nervousness.

"This is kind of difficult for me to ask," he sighed. "I'm just not good with this kind of thing." Akina gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked sweetly. Gaara bit his bottom lip and held out the ring box. Akina's eyes widened and she slowly took it from him. She opened up the box and gasped at sliver band inside. It was a simple gold band with little diamonds in it. She looked up at Gaara with tear filled eyes.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"I know that we're young, and I wanted to wait, but the council has other plans. I have to propose to someone before the end of the month, or they are going to arrange a marriage for me." Akina nodded and Gaara continued. "Like I said, I wanted to wait, but I don't want to be forced to marry someone that I could never love. You're the only one that I could ever love Akina." The white haired girl smiled and blushed slightly.

"I love you too," she whispered, handing the box back to him. Gaara gave her a confused look, and the girl giggled.

"Will you….. m-marry me then?" he asked, he's cheeks glowing a faint shade of red. Akina nodded.

"Yes Gaara, I'll marry you." Gaara took Akina's hand and carefully slid the ring onto her finger. Gaara then looked into her eyes and saw that she was crying. He wiped the tears away with his thumb and placed another kiss upon her lips.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too," she whispered back. Akina nestled herself in his arms and sighed in relief.

* * *

**_Alright, so this is probably one of my least favorite chapters. I guess I just don't really like the turn out or something. I'm not really sure. What do you all think. Is there anything I could've done to make this chapter turn out better. Please let me know. _**

**_Please Review! and No, this isn't the end. Suggestions are welcome and would be much appreciated._**

**_REVIEW!!_**


	13. Wedding Day!

A year had passed and the Kazekage's wedding was less than a week away. As the big day came closer, his nerves started to set in. He was only 17 and would be married soon. It was just a hard subject to wrap his mind around. It was something he definitely wasn't familiar with.

Akina was feeling the same way. She was nervous, but excited at the same time. She knew that she was young, but it didn't matter to her. Why should she have to wait, especially if she already knew who she wanted to spend her life with? She knew that Gaara was the one. She loved him and he loved her back. It didn't matter about their age, especially if they loved each other.

**XxOOOOOOOOxX**

It was the day of the wedding and the whole village had gathered to witness the betrothal of their beloved Kazekage. There were mixed feelings about the marriage. Some of the older villagers thought that the couple was too young and thought that the council was making a mistake by making the two teens wed. The younger, more naïve villagers thought it was sweet and romantic.

The sand siblings were extremely happy for their little brother. It was kind of hard to believe everything that had happened to their younger brother. The biggest accomplishment they thought that their little brother had made was falling in love. Throughout most of his life, he was deprived of that one essential thing. Now, it was like Akina made up for all those years he had gone without experiencing that feeling.

Temari was in one of the empty rooms, helping Akina get ready. They were expected to be out there in less than a half an hour, but they almost finished. She was just putting up the bride's hair.

Akina was wearing a beautiful white gown with a corset top that had small crystals and sequins sewn onto it. The skirt was flowing and had little floral patterns sewn into the fabric with sequins. Her lips were painted a glossy pink and her face had been transformed by the make-up. She know longer looked like a young teenage girl, but like a young woman.

She yelped when Temari accidentally tugged on a strand of hair a little too hard.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Akina giggled softly. "It's alright Temari."

Temari finished putting the bride's hair up into a simple bun and looked at her handy work, seeming proud with herself.

"You look absolutely gorgeous!" she squealed. Akina smiled nervously, holding on arm with her hand. "Don't be nervous. Take it from someone who has already been through this. There is absolutely nothing you need to worry about." Temari wrapped her arms around her friend and embraced her.

"Thank you Temari," Akina whispered, hugging her back.

"You stay here and try to relax. I'm going to see how close everyone is to being ready."

**XxOOOOOOOOxX**

Gaara was in another room, pacing back and forth nervously. He was wearing a nice suit, although he should have been probably been wearing his Kage robes. The elders would have preferred that, but he had decided against it. He didn't want to look at it as being married under high stature or anything. That wasn't the reason he was getting married. Sure it sped things up a little, but he would have probably gotten married to Akina either way.

"If you keep doing that, you're going to carve a whole through the floor." Gaara looked up and glared at his older brother. "Even your glare isn't as deadly looking. You really must be freaking out."

"Just a little," Gaara admitted softly. Kankurou chuckled and went over to stand by his brother's side.

"Just relax," he told him, putting a firm hand on his brother's shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise." Gaara sighed and sat down in one of the chairs.

"I just can't help it. I don't know what to expect. I don't know what's going to change, or what's going to be the same."

"That's why you need to stop worrying about stupid things like that. Besides, I really doubt that there's going to be any big changes, except that now you two can have sex." Kankurou laughed as Gaara's face turned a deep red color.

"You really aren't good at things like this, are you?" He shrugged and patted his brother on the back.

"But seriously. You two have officially known each other for like 4 years now, and Akina knew about you even longer that. The two of you have been dating for quite awhile now. Akina practically lives with us, so it's not like having her move in is going to be a big change. I also know that the two of you have slept together in the same bed a few times, so that won't be a completely foreign feeling. You really shouldn't be nervous."

Gaara took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He thought about everything that Kankurou had said. After a few minutes, he felt a little better.

"Thank you Kankurou." His older brother nodded and grinned.

"You had better get out there. We're supposed to be starting any minute now and people are going to want to see you before we begin. I need to go check on Akina and Temari. I guess I'll see you out there later." Kankurou gave his younger brother one more pat on the back before leaving.

**XxOOOOOOxX**

As soon as Akina came walking down the isle, Gaara could feel his heart beating rapidly. It seemed like hours before she finally reached him. She smiled at him and immediately took his hand in hers. They intertwined their fingers and stood before the man who was to betroth them.

It seemed like the man talked forever. It was kind of bad to say that they didn't care about what he was saying, but they didn't. They just wanted to get on with everything and get it over with. Finally, their wishes were coming true. They finally said their vows and their "I dos".

"The groom may now kiss the bride!"

Akina looked up into Gaara's eyes, still smiling at him. The red-head put a gentle hand on her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. Akina held her breath as Gaara brought his lips to hers and tenderly kissed him back. The cheering all around them seemed to be so far away. Her senses were all messed up and the only thing that seemed to be right was what was happening between her and Gaara.

Gaara slowly pulled away from her and smiled. She smiled right back and threw her arms around him. Gaara smirked and held her against him.

"Let's leave," she told him over the roar of the crowd. Gaara nodded as she pulled. Without any warning, Gaara scooped Akina up in his arms and carried her through the mass of people. The girl giggled and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

**XxOOOOOOOOxX**

Gaara carried his exhausted bride into his room and sat her down on his bed.

"Will you unzip me?" she asked. Gaara nodded, bringing the zipper down her back. She thanked him and got up, walking towards the door. "I'll be right back. I need to go get undressed and hang this thing up." Gaara nodded and smiled. Akina left and Gaara got undressed. He pulled a pair of sweat pants on and turned out the lights. He got under the covers, sighing to himself. He was exhausted. He hadn't really done much of anything, but the events still left him wiped out. He was probably in the best mood that he had ever been in before. He was happy.

Gaara smiled when he felt Akina slide underneath the covers and snuggle in close to him. He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her in close to him.

"I'm so tired," she whispered.

"Me too," Gaara sighed, planting a small kiss on her forehead. Akina snuggled in even closer and let out a deep breath of relief.

"Goodnight panda-san," she giggled. Gaara smirked to and gave her one last kiss on the forehead.

* * *

**_Alright, so I realize this isn't the longest chapter ever, but at least I posted a chapter. _**

**_Thank you Reviewers!_**

_**Kina Lupi-** Thank you so much. I'm glad, because that chapter had me kind of worried._

_**flower391169-** Yeah, it was a bit humerous, although I didn't mean for it to be extremely humorous or anything. Thanks!_

_**ChristinaAngel-** I know! They are evil. I was kind of worried about this idea, because I've read this part in a lot of fanfics, so I'm actually kind of ashamed. Oh well. I'll get over it. Thanks!_

**_I have posted a new story under the pen-name blue mist dragon. There is a link in my profile that should take you to the author page. My friend Mina and I worked together on this story. It's called You Are Not Alone, or something like that. I would really appreciate it if you all would read it._**

**_REVIEW!! and check out blue mist dragon's awesome story!_**


	14. Gikochinai

**Chapter 14: Gikochinai (Awkward)**

Akina woke up the next morning in still wrapped in Gaara's arms. She smiled to herself and looked at her sleeping husband. She carefully slipped out from beneath Gaara's arms and sat up, staring at him with loving eyes. The red-head was lying on his stomach with arm stretched out from where Akina had been. A peaceful look was etched on his face.

Akina looked up at the clock that hung on the wall and smirked. It was almost 11 o'clock in the morning. On normal days, Gaara would already be gone.

_"I should probably wake him up," _Akina thought to herself. She grinned and carefully pulled back the covers, revealing Gaara's bare back. She gently placed her hands on his lower back and slowly ran her hands up towards shoulders. He softly groaned to himself, clutching at the sheets with his hand. Akina giggled as he slowly opened his eyes. She lay down on her side, looking into his sleepy eyes. He smiled and brought a hand to her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Good morning," Akina replied sweetly. Gaara inched closer to her and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "How are you feeling?" she asked as he pulled away.

"I feel the same way as I usually do. I thought that I would feel different."

"We're going to have to talk about some stuff." He nodded.

"Let's talk now, while I'm still in a good mood." The white-haired girl nodded and smiled, taking Gaara's hand in her own hands. "You start."

"Well, now that we're married, is the council expecting anything else from us?" The red-head stared into his wife's emerald green eyes.

"I'm not really sure. I'm sure that they'll be expecting us to have a child, but I'm not sure when they were expecting that to happen."

"Have you even thought about children before this?" Gaara shook his head.

"It has crossed my mind a few times, but I haven't given it any deep thought. What about you?"

"I don't even want to think about having children yet. We're only 17. If the council brings up anything about children, you remind them about this. I'm not ready for anything like that." Gaara smirked and nodded, gently kissing her hand. "Is there anything else on your mind?" Gaara blushed slightly and nodded.

"I need to ask you about this," he told her. "Sex." Akina blushed slightly and looked away from Gaara. He took her chin in his hand and brought her head back up so that she was looking into his eyes. "We don't have to unless you want to. I mean, we haven't really done much of anything, so I think it would be kind of rushing it." The white-haired girl nodded.

"I want to wait a little longer," she told him softly. Gaara nodded and kissed her lips.

"Then we'll wait. We still haven't tried other things." Akina looked up at Gaara with a smirk.

"What other things?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. A light blush was painted onto Gaara's cheeks. Akina giggled. "Come on, you can tell me. What other things are you talking about?" Gaara's blush deepened.

"It's nothing," he assured. "I was just thinking about something Naruto showed me in a book." Akina laughed, making Gaara feel incredibly embarrassed.

"Tell me!" she told him. "We're married now. You shouldn't be embarrassed about telling me anything." Gaara took in a deep breath and looked into Akina's eyes.

"I'm not really sure," he told her. "Naruto called it making out." Akina laughed again.

"You don't know what making out is?" Gaara though for a moment and shook his head.

"Kissing I guess, but we already kiss." The white-haired female grinned and him and caressed his check with the back of her hand.

"You are so clueless Sabaku no Gaara, but I love you anyway. You being clueless makes you so damn cute."

"How am I clueless?" he asked, looking at her with stern eyes.

"For one, you have no idea what making out really is. Secondly, you were completely new to the whole 'love' thing."

"If I'm so clueless, why don't you explain it to me," he demanded. Akina smirked at him and sat up.

"Explaining this to you is too much work," she sighed, "but I can show you if you want." Gaara raised an eyebrow at her. He nodded and slowly sat up. Akina scooted in close to him and placed a hand behind his head. She crushed her lips against his and he kissed her back. His eyes widened slightly when he felt Akina playfully nip at his bottom lip. He didn't even realize that he had opened his mouth until he felt her tongue slip inside. His eyes widened even more as a weird sensation pulsed throughout his body. He unconsciously inched his hands around his bride's waist, drawing her closer to his body.

Akina finally pulled away after a few minutes when her lungs were screaming for air. She looked down at Gaara with a smirk. Gaara noticed that there was a faint blush on her cheeks, which made him blush a little in return.

"How was that?" she asked in curiosity. Gaara opened his mouth to speak but nothing would come out. He casually closed his mouth and gave her a simple smile as an answer. Akina giggled and laid her head against his chest. "I sure hope that you were paying attention, because I'll be expecting you to do that sometime." Gaara chuckled lightly and gave the white-haired girl in his arms a little squeeze before kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too Gaara-kun," she cooed, wrapping her arms around her husband.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

A few months had passed by, and a few things started changing between the couple. For one, they have been much more intimate with each other. Like most couples do, they started confiding in each other even more. Things that Gaara would normally try and hide now came out into the open when he was asked about it. He trusted Akina and it seemed to help by telling her things.

It was on the third month that Gaara came home more furious than ever. Akina was already home, having left the hospital a bit early. Concerned for her husband, she quietly entered their room and sat down on the bed beside the fuming Kazekage. She hadn't seen him this frustrated before. Gaara was hunched over with his elbows on his knees. He was clutching onto his head with his hands, his fingers tangled up in his hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Akina asked softly. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, causing the young red-head to jump in slight surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Gaara nodded, still looking down at the ground in frustration. Akina moved so that she was kneeling behind him. She placed a hand on either shoulder, slowly massaging them. The red-head closed his eyes and sighed. After a few moments, his body began to relax. Akina stopped and ran her hands down his back.

"Better?" she asked softly. Gaara nodded and looked up at her with sad eyes. She greeted him with a soft compassionate kiss, slowly pulling away a few moments later. "What's wrong?"

Gaara laid his head against her chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. No one would have believed that this was the Gaara everyone knew, because it kind of wasn't. When Gaara was out in public, he held himself up with dignity. He wouldn't complain about anything and would just push through any hardships that he faced. He would go through everything alone. He used to think that he would have to trudge through life being alone forever, but it wasn't the case any more. He liked the feeling of having someone to come home to. Akina was the only person he opened up to, and the only person he had ever really opened up to. He wasn't afraid to tell her anything because he knew that she of all people would never judge him. She would always accept him, no matter what he did. He could put all his faith into her.

"It's the council," he sighed. Akina nodded and ran her fingers through Gaara's blood-red hair. "They're expecting a child soon. They want to know when we plan on having our first child."

"Tell them to wait a few more months, and we'll let them know what our plans are." Gaara looked up at her in confusion. "I don't even want to think of things like that until I'm eighteen. My birthday is in January, and I'll be eighteen at that time. They can expect to hear news around then." Gaara pulled away and looked into her emerald green eyes.

"I'll tell them, but I don't know how much good that will do. I think that the only reason they do this to me is to make me miserable."

"You'll be able to overcome it all," she encouraged him. "You're strong, and it's not like you to let them bother you like that."

"Yeah, but now they are starting to say things about you."

"I don't need you to protect me. They can talk about me all they want. Besides, I can always get back at them the next time they need to be admitted into the hospital." Gaara smirked at her and planted a small kiss on her cheek.

"Why do you put up with me?" he asked softly. "You could easily rid yourself of all this trouble."

"Why would I do that to you? That's just mean and coldhearted. I want to stay by your side until the end." Gaara kissed her again.

"Then I will be by your side whenever you need me." She grinned and hugged him even tighter.

* * *

**_Finally, I got another post up. I'm really sorry about taking so long with this. It's just that I've been lacking inspiration lately. I'm really trying to do my best, but I've been getting a bunch of writer's blocks lately. I don't know what's going on. It's extremely annoying, I know, just try and bare with me for now. The reviews really do help. It's just getting the chapter to the point of where I'm ready to post it. I'm always finding something to change in it and that make it take longer._**

**_Anyways, a big thank you to all of my fellow reviewers. The reviews and encouragement really keep me going and give me liitle bursts of energy in which I use to write._**

_**Kita Kudai- **Yeah. This one is kind of short, but I don't really have much to write about._

_**Yume Ninja-** Thanks_

_**AddictedtoBleach-** Lol. Thanks._

_**flower391169-** Thanks. Like I mentioned above, it's just a lot harder for me to come up with stuff now, especially since I've been putting a lot of time and effort into my other story "Make Me Whole". Sorry for the wait. I really am. Thank you for the review._

_**Hinata11235-** Sorry about the slow update._

_**NeferNeferi-** True. I guess this is one of them. Lol. Thanks for reviewing._

_**Christina Angel-** Thanks. I know. I love just imagining it. I could see him making a hole in the floor from where he was pacing back and forth. Lol. thanks for reviewing!_

**_I'll try and get the next chapter out soon, but I can't make any promises, because then I feel really really bad if I can't keep it. The reviews really help motivate me though, so keep them coming, okay? Thank you all so, so much. You are all awesome and I really am sorry about making you guys wait so long. I hope you can forgive me. _.**

**_Review!_**


	15. What Would I Do Without You?

After Gaara had another talk with the council, telling them about Akina's plans, the red-head was surprised that they were actually fine with the decision. It was definitely suspicious, but it was also a relief. He was getting tired of the council tailing him about such matters. He had no private life with them around, and it was rather disturbing.

Chuunin exams were coming up again, which meant that Gaara would be going several nights without any sleep in order to keep up with all the work. During this very frustrating month, Akina would sometimes come up to his office at night to see what he was doing.

Gaara looked up when he heard a soft tap. He saw Akina enter the office and quietly shut the door behind. He looked up at the clock and then back at the girl.

"It's past midnight," he told her softly. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"I should say the same thing to you Kazekage-sama," she said sternly, folding her arms over her chest. The red-head looked at her through tired, slightly agitated eyes. "You're starting to look terrible. You've been working for 5 days straight Gaara. I know that you used to be able to go without sleep and not have it effect you greatly, but you can't anymore. You need to take a break, or at least come home at night."

"I have to finish this work before the Chuunin exams," he sighed, picking the pen back up. Akina sighed in aggravation and stomped over to his desk. She snatched the pen out of his hand and slammed it on the desk. Gaara looked up at her with wide eyes, seeing nothing but deep concern etched on her face.

"If you don't get any rest, you're going to end up getting sick like the last time and you'll be even more far behind." Gaara thought about it for a moment, remembering all the trouble it had caused. "As a doctor, and as your wife, I'm telling you to take a day off. If its documents that need to be signed, you can have Kankurou go through some of them. I don't care, but you're coming home tonight and you're taking it easy tomorrow, am I clear?" Gaara smirked at the glare she gave him and nodded.

"I guess I don't really have a choice," he sighed. He got up from his seat and started heading towards the door, Akina following close behind him. She shut his lights off and locked his door, putting the key in her pocket. She then hurried back to Gaara's side and walked with him at his pace. She smiled when she felt him slip his hand into hers.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted back there," she apologized softly. Gaara gave her hand a gentle squeeze and nodded.

"It's alright Akina," he assured her. "I appreciate your concern for me, seeing as not very many people do."

"They do," she whispered. The red-head looked at her in slight confusion. "A lot of the people in the village care about your well-being, but there's just not really anything they can do about it."

"I suppose…."

"I'm meeting with the council tomorrow," she interrupted abruptly. The Kazekage looked at her in surprise.

"What for?" Akina sighed and shook her head.

"I don't really know. They sent me notice earlier today that they wanted to talk to me tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll go..."

"I can do this on my own," she told him sternly, stopping in front of their home. "Besides, I told you that you were to take it easy tomorrow. That means no meetings." Gaara looked at her with blank eyes before nodding.

"I want you to let me know what they say," he told her. She smiled weakly and nodded. The two of them walked into the house and into their room. Gaara quickly stripped himself of his kage robes and his day clothes that were underneath that. He then got into a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a crimson red t-shirt. Akina was already crawling into bed, wearing a pair of black pajama shorts and a matching black camisole top.

Gaara turned out the light and got under the covers with Akina. He scooted in close to her, wrapping a strong arm around her torso and pulling her closer to him. Akina looked over her shoulder and was greeted with a soft kiss from her husband.

"Goodnight," he whispered. She smiled and gave him one last kiss.

"Goodnight Gaara."

**XOOOOOOOOOOOX**

Akina woke up early the next morning with Gaara's arm still around her torso. She smiled to herself and carefully slipped out from beneath his arm, laying it gently on the bed. She looked at his peaceful face, making sure that she hadn't disturbed him. Gaara was sleeping deeply. She could tell by the way he was breathing.

Akina slowly got out of bed and changed into her day clothes. She wore a pair of tan knee-length khakis and a pale sea-green Chinese styled top (kind of like TenTen's) that had pale red straps in the front. It wasn't her favorite outfit, but it would at least make her look more presentable in front of the council members.

After she was done getting ready, she quietly went back over to Gaara and leaned in close, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. The red-head didn't even stir, which told her how exhausted he really was.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered, not expecting him to hear her. She got back up and walked out of the room and then out of the house.

**XxooooooooxX**

Akina stood in front of the council bowing respectfully and remaining bowed until they said her name. She slowly straightened up and made eye contact with the head councilman.

"I'm guessing that Kazekage-sama has discussed the possibilities with children," he began. Akina sighed and nodded.

"And I'm sure that he has spoke to you on behalf of us both," she responded. The councilman nodded.

"We just wanted to hear it from you."

"I guess that's understandable," she sighed. "Gaara and I both turn 18 this January, and it would make the both of us feel much more comfortable."

"That is why we have decided to let that go for now. We just wanted to be sure that you were at last planning on it." Akina nodded in understanding.

"Is that all?" she asked. The council nodded. "Then I'd like to talk to you about Gaara for a moment." The councilman looked at her in slight confusion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You're going to need to schedule fewer meetings for Gaara or give him less paperwork or something. Last night was the first night he had slept in 5 days."

"Fine, we'll cancel some of the meetings for this week." Akina couldn't help but feel that he sounded like he didn't care in the least. She decided that it was best that she just left though. She didn't want to get herself into any trouble, or to cause Gaara any trouble.

**XxooooooooxX**

Akina returned home about an hour later, close to noon. She quietly entered her room, amused to find Gaara still sound asleep. She softly giggled to herself and approached the bed. She knelt down on the edge and ran her fingers through Gaara's blood-red locks. He let out a soft sigh, flexing his fingers on the pillow.

"You wouldn't be so sleepy if you had been coming home more often," she told him playfully. Gaara just lay there silently, not opening his eyes. She giggled and shook her head at the Kazekage in mock disappointment. Using her index finger, she placed it in the center of Gaara's back and quickly and lightly ran it up his spine. The red-head's body cringed involuntarily and he took in a sharp deep breath through his nose. He slowly opened his eyes and rolled over onto his back, wearily looking up at Akina.

"Good morning," she whispered sweetly to him. He blinked at her a couple times.

"What time is it?" he asked weakly. Akina's eyes softened.

"It's' almost noon," she told him. "Are you feeling okay Gaara? You don't sound too good." Gaara looked up at her blankly as she began to caress his cheek.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "I'm just tired." Gaara slowly sat up and sighed to himself. "What did the council say?"

"I don't know why they could of just told you, but they said that they would let us wait until we're 18 to hear about plans for a child.

"They don't trust me. They never have and they probably never will." Akina looked at him with sad eyes

"I guess that's their problem then." Gaara nodded and took hold of Akina's hand, squeezing it gently. She could see the pain that was in her lover's eyes. She knew how hard he had been working to get people to change their opinion about him. The youth of the village seemed to be more ready to trust Gaara than the elders, but that wasn't really surprising. After all, it was the elder people that had a more personal type of conflict with him. They knew him while he was growing up and couldn't forget the person that used to roam the village. Some of the people had been affected by his cruelty, most of them losing a loved one at the palms of the blood thirsty child.

Akina wasn't around to see his more sinister side, and Gaara was thankful that she hadn't been. She might not be there with him now. She might not even be alive at the moment.

Gaara was jerked from his thoughts by a soft kiss on the cheek. He turned his head toward her and was greeted by a gentle kiss on the lips, in which he returned.

"Don't look so sad," she told him sweetly, "Or you'll end up making me sad and there won't be anyone left to make the other feel better." He smiled slightly and pulled her in for another kiss before pulling away.

"Akina," he began, "I'll tell you about what happened after you left all those years ago." The white-haired girl gave him a weird look.

"Gaara, you don't have…"

"I want to!" he interrupted. He looked down at the ground with sad eyes. Akina frowned at him.

"Alright Gaara," she said calmly. "I'm listening."

Gaara let everything out. He told her what had happened between him and his uncle; about what he lived for; about all the people he had hurt or killed. He told her how there were times when he was afraid of himself, afraid that he was going to disappear forever. He talked about how he had hated everyone but himself and how everyone only hated him. He told her of the nightmares he had when he had accidentally fallen asleep while he still had shuukaku inside of him. Anything that came to his mind, he told her.

When Gaara had finished, the room was absolutely silent. Gaara sat there, suddenly feeling sick. He had never talked that much in his entire life. His throat felt sore and dry. His heart felt heavy with grief that had been sealed away there for as long as he could remember. Gaara was now being haunted by the thoughts that Akina would hate him. She now knew what he truly was, or at least what he had been.

Any negative thoughts that were running through his head were immediately driven away as a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him in close. Gaara laid his head against her chest, sighing in relief.

"You have come so far Gaara," she whispered into his ear. "I know it would have saved you a lot of trouble to have not gone through any of that stuff, but I'm kind of glad you did. You might not be the same person as you are today, and the Gaara right here is who I have come to love." Gaara couldn't help but smile. He sat up and wrapped his arms around Akina, hugging her tightly. Akina grinned and hugged him back.

"Thank you Akina," he whispered.

* * *

**_Finally, chapter 15 is up. I'm really sorry to all my loyal readers for taking so long to update. I've been working on another story as well and kind of got caught up in it. I was also trying to think of what I wanted to do next and that took me longer than I though it would. Again, I'm really sorry. I typed this up as quickly as I could and posted it not long after. I hope that you all enjoy._**

**_I'd like to thank all my loyal readers. I'd also like to give a special thanks to the following people, who reviewed last chapter._**

**_Christina Angel, Yume Ninja, Kita Kudai, NeferNeferi, and AddictedtoBleach._**

**_Thanks a bunch!_**

**_Okay, for a special treat, because I owe a lot too all you reviewers, I'd like to ask for your help on a matter that I think you will all enjoy! Below I will list some baby names, boys and girls, along with their meanings. I'd love for you all to vote for one girl name and one boy name. I'm not sure which one I will do yet. I'm letting my one of my school friends decide, but she wants to see what names you guys like best. Here's what I have._**

**_Boys: Daichi-_**great wisdom -- **Haru-**sunshine -- **Hiro-**generous -- **Seiji**-truthful rule -- **Masa-**true sand

**Girls: _Eri-_**_my protector -- **Misa-**beautiful sand__ -- **Kaede-**maple -- **Mitsuki-**beautiful moon -- **Yuri-**earth worker_

_**Please review quickly and let me know which names you like best. I want to get the next chapter up soon and I won't be able to do that unless I know which names you prefer. Choose one girl name and one guy name. **_

**_Vote and Review!!_**


	16. Gaara's A Daddy!

Akina smiled at the child sitting on the examination table, bandaging her arm. The young brunette sniffled, wiping the tears away from her eyes with her good hand. Akina paused and handed the young girl a tissue. She then continued bandaging her arm.

"I'm all done," she told her as she tied off the bandage. "If you clean your wound everyday, just like I showed you, then it should heal in no time."

"Thank you Akina-sama," she sniffled.

"You're welcome. Just be careful next time, okay." The girl nodded and hopped down from her seat, dashing out of the room.

Akina left the room and went out to the front desk. The secretary looked up at her smiled.

"I'm going home for the day," she told the brown-haired nurse.

"Alright," she chirped. "Enjoy the rest of the night and happy birthday." Akina nodded and walked out of the hospital.

**XxooooooooxX**

Akina walked through the door of her home, happy to be away from work. She slipped her sandals off by the door and walked towards the kitchen. She gasped as she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and kiss her neck. She looked over her shoulder and sighed in relief when she saw Gaara.

"You scared me," she giggled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He kissed her neck again, causing the white-haired girl to lean against him even more.

"You're home early," she said breathlessly. Gaara nodded and continued to massage her neck with his lips. His hands slowly moved up and down her small waist.

"It's your birthday," he whispered in between kisses. "I wanted to be here with you." Akina smiled, slowly shutting her eyes. She let Gaara kiss her a little longer before she opened her eyes and gently pulled away. He shut his eyes slightly as she gently pressed her lips against his, opening them again as she pulled away. She took one of his hands in hers and started leading him towards their bedroom. Gaara gave her a slightly confused look.

Akina led Gaara over to their bed and sat down. He sat down beside her, still holding onto her hand.

"Do you want to?" she asked, squeezing his hand a bit tighter. Gaara's eyes widened slightly as he realized what she meant.

"Only if you want to," he told her softly. "Are you sure you're ready? We don't have….." He was interrupted by Akina as she kissed him again.

"I wouldn't be saying anything if I wasn't ready." She scooted back and turned around so that she could lay back and have her head on the pillow if she had wanted to. Gaara stared into her green eyes, searching them for any hint of hesitation. It didn't matter how hard he looked. She was being sincere with him, like she had always been.

Gaara scooted closer to her, kneeling slightly in front of her. He gently brought his hand to her face and traced her jawbone with the tips of his fingers. His hand slowly slid behind her head as he kissed her tenderly. Akina put a hand behind her so that she wouldn't fall backwards all of a sudden. She placed her other hand behind his neck in response to him intensifying the kiss.

The red-head pulled away for a moment, taking a quick breath before crushing his lips against Akina's. She felt Gaara lick her bottom lip before slipping it inside her mouth, sending a pleasing sensation dancing upon her taste buds. Her heart began to race faster as Gaara slowly laid her back, their lips still locked to one another's.

Soon, there was a sweet sensation of flesh against flesh; the feeling warmth surrounding the two bodies; the sense of safety and security.

**XxoooooooxX**

Akina woke up early the next morning like she normally did, and as usual was wrapped up in Gaara's arms. She lay there for a few moments, running through everything that had happened the night before. She could tell that Gaara was still sleeping from the way he was breathing. She smiled to herself and carefully slipped out from Gaara's arms. She got out of bed and grabbed her clothes before heading into their bathroom.

Gaara woke up a few minutes later, slightly surprised to not find Akina beside him. He sighed and got out of bed. He walked over to the dresser and got into a clean set of clothes. He sat back down on his bed, hunched over with his face buried in his hands.

_"Did I upset her?" _he wondered to himself. _"Did I hurt her or something?"_

Gaara raised his head a couple of minutes later as Akina came running into the room. His eyes widened as she tackled him to the bed.

"What was that for?!" he asked. She grinned and giggled, hugging the red-head tightly.

"You're going to be a daddy!" she squealed. Gaara's faces suddenly went pale at these words. Akina noticed this and let go of him. "What's wrong?" she asked. Gaara sat up and shook his head.

"I'm not really sure," he sighed.

"Aren't you happy?" His eyes widened again and he looked at Akina in shock.

"Yes, I'm very happy," he assured her, wrapping her in his arms. "It's just…. I don't know. I never thought I would hear those words. There are actually a lot of words that I thought I would never hear, and yet I have heard them. I guess you could say I'm a little scared."

"Don't be scared Gaara. It's much too early for that." Gaara smirked and nodded. He kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll make a doctor's appointment later on today."

**XoooooooooooooooooooooX**

Four months sped by and Akina was noticeably pregnant. Temari was now staying in the Kazekage mansion to help Akina out, especially when her due date approached closer. Every time the blonde would ask what she was having, she would tell her that it was a surprise. She told the council members the same thing. Not even Gaara was completely informed, although he knew a little bit more than some of the others. He didn't really mind though. He knew what he needed to know. He didn't need to know the sex. He would find out soon enough.

As the months went by, Gaara grew more and more worried. He would wake up at night from nightmares of his own childhood. He feared that his children would never be able to love him. On top of that, he didn't want them to grow up the same way that he had to.

Akina assured him that nothing like that would happen. She told him that any of their children would love him unconditionally. She told him that they would grow up with plenty of love because Gaara wouldn't treat them the same way as his father had treated him. He would be a great father and she would help him along the way.

**XxooooooooxX**

Gaara watched as two newborn infants were cleaned up and wrapped in clean towels. The crying twins were then taken out of the room for a quick examination and to be weighed. One of the nurses stayed behind and approached Akina and him.

"I'd like to congratulate you on a beautiful baby boy and girl," she told them happily. "We'll bring them back in a few moments so that they can be fed." Akina nodded and thanked the nurse.

"Are you okay Gaara," Akina asked the red-head, smirking playfully at him. He looked up at her for a moment before nodding.

"I'm still in shock," he whispered. The white-haired female laughed lightly and nodded.

"I told you that you were in for a surprise." She took his hand in hers, caressing the back of it with her thumb. He gave her a weak smile and nodded.

A few minutes later, one of the nurses came back in, carrying a crying baby in each arm. She carefully handed them one at a time to Akina.

"You can go ahead and feed them now," the nurse told her. Akina smiled and fed her hungry children. Once the babies finished eating, she burped them and held the small bundles tenderly against. Their skin was a blotchy pink color, their eyes were closed, and their fingers were extremely small.

She looked up at Gaara and saw him staring at them with sparkling eyes. She smiled at the red-head, although he probably didn't notice. He had never really been in close contact with small children, especially newborn infants. He was filled with amazement at how small they were.

"Do you want to hold one of them Gaara?" Akina asked softly. The red-head looked at her with wide eyes.

"M-me?!" he asked, looking a little nervous. Akina smirked and rolled her eyes at him.

"You did help make them," she teased. "I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes." Gaara bit his bottom lip for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

"Do you want to hold your son?" she asked, nodding to the blue bundle. Gaara nodded again. "You're going to have to pick him up. I don't want to drop him."

"I don't know how," he told her sadly. Akina giggled softly.

"Slide one of your hands beneath his head and back," she instructed. The Kazekage slowly complied, looking up at his wife to see if he was doing it right. She grinned and nodded. "Good, just like that. Now slide your other hand under the infant's bottom and lift him up. You want his head at the bend of your elbow." A few moments later the child began to cry. Gaara looked down at him with hurt eyes.

"He doesn't like me," he whispered shamefully.

"Quit saying that," Akina scolded. "He doesn't hate you. Hold him closer to your body, like this." He saw how she was angling the baby so that the infant to could fit more comfortably in her arm and be close to her body at the same time. Gaara did the same with the baby boy in his arms. The infant slowly quieted down and suckled on the blue pacifier in his mouth.

Gaara looked up at Akina and smiled. Akina giggled again and smiled back.

"We still have to name them you know," she told him. "Do you have any names in mind?" He stared at the small bundle of life in his arms, deep in thought.

"I asked Temari once and she suggested Haru," he said softly. She smiled.

"I like it."

"You name her. It's only fair."

"Okay, then I want to name her Misa." Gaara lulled over the name for a moment before smiling. "You like it?" He nodded.

"I think it's a beautiful name."

"Haru and Misa," she sighed. Gaara smirked.

"Cute," he chuckled.

"You're going to be such a good daddy Gaara," Akina cooed. The red-head rolled his eyes at her and looked back down at Haru.

**XxooooooooxX**

A couple of weeks had passed since the birth of the Kazekage's children. The council members were very pleased about the birth of the healthy twins. Temari was thrilled about the babies and they even won a small amount of affection from the lazy Shikamaru. Kankurou would sometimes stop by after missions to see how everyone was doing and to pay a short visit with his niece and nephew.

Gaara was on the ground, lying on his stomach in between the two babies. He watched the children with a small smile on his face. Each child had his or her own personality. Haru was the laid back one. Even though he had cried when Gaara had first held him, he was the one who cried the least out of the two but he was also didn't smile as much as Misa. When he did smile, however, it was enough to make everyone who saw it smile as well. Misa was the boisterous one. She'd always be cooing and was fairly well tempered. She also seemed to take to the red-head the most, which Akina thought to be weird because Haru and Gaara seemed to be close personality wise.

Gaara had a gentle hand on each babies' tummy, and each baby had one of his fingers gripped in their hand and were sucking on it.

"I hope you washed your hands," Akina scolded. He looked up to see the white-haired girl staring at him with her hands on her hips. He smirked at her and nodded. "You three look so cute together," she cooed. The red-head chuckled and went back to looking at the babies. He gently pulled his hands away from them, placing a pacifier into their mouths to take the place of his finger. He slowly stood up and walked over to his wife. He cupped her cheek in his hand and tenderly kissed her.

"How was work?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I've had worse days." She gave him another kiss. "How were the babies?" He smiled and shook his head.

"They were fine." The white-haired girl laughed, ruffling his red hair.

"Didn't I tell you?! I knew you would be fine!" He laughed and nodded.

"Thank you Akina."

* * *

**_Chapter 16! Thank you all so much for voting. My friend really wanted to see them have twins, well, actually, she wanted them to have septuplets, but I told her that the most I would do was twins. She thought that it would be hillarious to have twins named Misa and Masa, but Masa didn't get as many votes as some of the others, and I was afraid that I would get the two names confused and accidentally switch them. My friend pointed out to me that I already used the name Daichi in a different story and so I decided to go with the runner up, which was Haru. For the girl, I believe there was a three way tie. Mitsuki probably would have won, but it was too similar to another name I have used in another fic and we wanted something different. It was a way tie between Misa and Eri. To help break the tie, I had my cousin choose her which one she liked better, and she thought that Misa was perfect. It doesn't have as nice of a ring as I would have liked, but I like both names. My friend wanted them to be Hiro and Misa, but I wanted to be true to the votes._**

**_Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it. A special thanks to those who reviewed and voted:_**

**_cow7dvd, Yume Ninja, AddictedtoBleach, Kina Lupi, NeferNeferi, Love-Hidden-Under-Blood, and Kita Kudai._**

**_You guys are awesome._**

**_Chapter 17 is going to be the last chapter, sadly enough. Next chapter, you'll be able to see Misa and Haru as little kiddies. What mischief will they cause and who does each one take after? Any ideas? Please let me know. Which kid should look like which parent?_**

**_Please Review!_**


	17. Haru and Misa

A happy red-haired girl sat in the middle of the floor finger-painting with on a big sheet of white paper. She hummed softly to herself as her hands smeared the paint across the smooth surface. Her emerald-green eyes were glistening brilliantly and were filled with life and joy. Her hair resembled her fathers, although it wasn't anywhere near as dark. She definitely resembled her father, except for her eyes. Her eyes were the same color and shape as her mother's.

The six year old girl giggled and got to her feet. She stepped in the paint with her bare feet, wiggling her toes in the squishy mess. Being as careful as she could, she stepped onto the piece of paper and walked all over it, leaving her footprints behind. When she finished, she got off the paper and sat down on the floor. She took a wet rag and wiped the messy paint off of her feet.

"What are you doing Misa?" a small voice asked. The girl looked over her shoulder a grinned. Standing behind her was a six year old boy with white hair like his mother's and sea-green eyes like his father's.

"Come here Haru," she told him, waving her brother over. "Come put your handprint on my picture."

"I don't want to ruin it," he said softly. Misa giggled and got up. She took his hands and led him over to her picture.

"You won't ruin it," she assured him. The two of them knelt down. Misa took her brother's hand and dipped it into the blue paint. "Let's put it right here so we know that it's yours." The white haired boy nodded and pressed his hand against the paper. He kept it there for a few seconds before lifting it.

"Is that good?"

"It's great!" Haru blushed slightly and smiled weakly. "Well, I'm going to do my homework while it dries."

"I already did mine." Misa gave him a weird look.

"You always get your homework done first," she pouted.

"You could too if you didn't wait so long to get it started."

"I know." Misa skipped off, leaving Haru alone. The young boy sat down by the window sill, looking out at the busy streets of Suna. He heaved a sad sigh, seeing kids from his class playing soccer. He wanted to play with them, but the last time he did, the kids teased him because he was different. He was the only kid in his class with white hair. Everyone else had brown or black or darkish hair colors. He stood out like a polar bear in a jungle.

He liked his white hair and he didn't mind being different. It was being excluded and made fun of that he didn't like. He wanted to have friends, like his sister had.

_"Why does it have to be so hard?"_ he wondered to himself.

"Is something wrong Haru?" The white haired boy turned his head and saw his father taking a seat next to him.

"Nothing is wrong," he muttered. The red-head raised an invisible eyebrow, doubting that nothing was bothering his child.

"Well, why aren't you outside playing with your friends?" Gaara asked.

"They're not my friends. I don't have any friends." There was pain in the red-head's eyes.

"Why not Haru?"

"Because no one likes me!" the child snapped. The boy looked at his father with tearful eyes. "They think that I'm too different. They tease me and say that I'm only half Suna blood. Is that true father? Am I really that different?" Gaara pulled his son into his arms and hugged him tightly. The white-haired boy cried into his father's shirt.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Gaara asked, softly. The boy nodded. "I know what it's like Haru, believe me, I really do. At least you have your mother, your sister, and me. You know that we love you, right?" Haru looked up at him with sad eyes and nodded.

"Yes, I know," he whispered, snuggling against his father's chest. "You had trouble making friends too?" Gaara chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, I had a really hard time making friends. Your mother was actually my very first friend, but then she had to move away. I actually have more friends in Konoha than I do here."

"What's Konoha?" Haru asked, looking slightly confused. Gaara smirked and ruffled his hair.

"It's a village that is an ally to our village. In other words, it's another village that is friendly towards us. You have plenty of time to make friends."

"What about friends?" Gaara looked up to see Misa slowly walking over to them.

"It's nothing," he told her softly.

"He's having trouble making friends, right?" The red-head sighed and nodded. Misa smiled slightly.

"It's none of your business Misa," the white-haired boy mumbled.

"I just thought that I could help," she told him. "There's a new girl in our class. They just moved here from Konoha." Gaara thought about this for a moment, knowing what she was talking about. The family had moved into Suna about a week ago and had just enrolled their children into the ninja academy. "I invited her and her brother over tomorrow. Is that alright father?" The red-head looked into her begging eyes before nodding. She squealed happily and skipped out of the room.

"Are you okay?" he asked his son. The young boy slowly nodded.

"Thank you." Gaara smiled and kissed his son on the forehead, making Haru chuckle softly.

**XxooooooooxX**

Haru was sitting at the kitchen table, working on making a puppet with the parts that Kankurou had given him. It was a small, toy-sized puppet, but it was a start.

"Haru!" The white-haired boy looked up to see his sister and two other people that he hadn't seen before.

"What is it Misa?" he asked softly, putting his things down and hopping down from his chair. He looked at the boy that was standing in front of him. He had golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Actually, he could only see one eye because the other one was hidden by his hair.

"Haru, this is Seiji. He doesn't know anybody around Suna. Can you hang out with him to today?" He sighed before nodding. Misa and her friend scurried out of the room giggling.

"I'm Haru," the white-haired boy introduced. The blonde nodded and smiled nervously.

"You don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to," Seiji muttered.

"It's alright. I want to. I was working on my puppet, but I can do it later. Is there anything you want to do?"

"Could you show me around?" he asked. Haru smiled and nodded.

"Let's go," he rushed ahead of the blonde and ran down the hall. When he turned the corner, he ran right into his father. He looked up and blushed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. Gaara smirked and looked at the blonde standing behind him.

"Is this your friend?" he asked. Seiji smiled at the word and Haru nodded.

"This is Seiji. He moved here from Konoha, just like your friends." Gaara smiled and nodded.

"It's nice to meet you Seiji. I hope you and your family are getting used to life here in Suna."

"Thank you sir."

"I'm going to show him around Suna." Gaara nodded.

"Be back before dark."

The two boys dashed off. Gaara walked up the stairs and went into his room. He plopped down on the bed beside Akina.

"Haru made a new friend," he whispered. Akina smiled.

"That's nice," she giggled. Gaara nodded. "You know, he may not look like you, but his personality is a splitting image of you when you were six." The red-head smirked.

"Yeah, I know. Only difference is that he won't have to go through everything I had to." Akina kissed him on the cheek.

"You are such a wonderful father," she whispered into his ear.

* * *

**_It has finally come to an end. I hope that you all liked the ending._**

**_Thanks to everyone who reviewed for during this story. A special thank you to those of you who reviewed last chapter._**

**_NeferNeferi, Kita Kudai, and AddictedtoBleach._**

**_I'm working on a High School Fic. right now, for those of you who are interested. It's called "Make Me Whole"._**

**_Thanks again to everyone who reviewed._**

**_Please review!_**


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